Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to re-consider land matters it considered during 2022. A complaint about the substantive matter is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s recent decision that it will not consider the matter again.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has refused to honour an offer of compensation it made in 2022 in relation to land matters, to a charitable organisation he represents. He says this has caused the organisation financial loss. He wants the Council to re-open negotiations and make a fair offer of compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X represents a charitable organisation. In October 2022, the Council made the organisation an offer of compensation related to land matters. Mr X did not accept the offer at that time.
7. In April 2024, Mr X contacted the Council and asked them to honour the agreement and pay the organisation the compensation. The Council told him as he had not accepted the offer at the time, it had withdrawn it and the Council would not now re-consider the matter.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. A complaint about the land matters is late. Mr X was in dispute with the Council about these matters in 2022. If he was dissatisfied with the Council’s actions at the time, he could have complained to us sooner.
9. We will also not investigate the Council’s recent decision that it will not consider the matter again now. The Council has already considered the matter so an investigation would be unlikely to find fault in its decision that it will not re-open negotiations or consider the matter again now.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because a complaint about the land matters is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision that it will not re-consider the matter now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman