Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Council selling a piece of land. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council had not responded to emails she sent about the possible purchase of a piece of land. Mrs X said she had been in negotiations with the Council since 2020, but it frequently failed to respond to her communication for several months. Mrs X said she needed the land to improve drainage around her property. She wants the Council to improve the efficiency of its process and to respond to her contact.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs X complained about the Council’s lack of contact since 2020. She did not complain to us until September 2024. Therefore, any complaint about the Council’s lack of communication before September 2023 is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.
8. In 2024, Mrs X complained to the Council about the slowness of the purchasing process. Although, the Council has not provided a response to that complaint, we will not investigate this matter. That is because the Council has confirmed that negotiations for the land are ongoing and that it intends to send a formal response to Mrs X’s offer shortly. Further involvement by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome. We can not expedite the Council’s negotiations with Mrs X.
9. Additionally, despite Mrs X’s frustrations, we would not consider the injustice caused by the Council’s actions significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman