Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to transfer land to Ms X. This is because there is another body better placed to consider the compliant, and we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council refused to transfer a parcel of land to her, and has caused delays. She says that this has been very stressful as she has used this land since she purchased her property. Ms X would like the Council to remove the land from the sale to the developer.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully.
3. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X’s garden is next to Council land that was recently sold to developers. Ms X says that since she bought her property, she has used a small parcel of the Council’s land as her own.
7. Ms X approached the Council and asked it not to include this parcel of land in the sale to the developers. She says that it initially agreed but later changed its mind, which has left her to deal with this issue with the developers directly. Ms X says the developers do not want to transfer the land to her.
8. The Council says it tried to accommodate a solution for Ms X but it was not possible for contractual reasons. Therefore, it proceeded with the sale. It accepts that there were delays in responding to Ms X and has apologised for this as well as changing its process to avoid a future recurrence.
9. When somebody uses land belonging to another over a prolonged period, they can acquire rights to the ownership of the land. It is for the courts to decide whether the prolonged use of the land amounts to ownership in these cases. Therefore, it would be reasonable for Ms X to pursue this issue through the courts.
10. We would be unable to ask the Council or the developers to remove land that they legally own from the sale, therefore we are unable to achieve the outcome that Ms X wants.
11. In respect of the delay, the Council has apologised and changed its process. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is another body better placed to consider the compliant, and we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman