Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that an allotment must be allocated to the first person on the waiting list when it becomes available. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because it is a late complaint. In addition, there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council will not allow the new property owner to rent an allotment when Mrs X sells her home. Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s decision that it will offer the plot to the first person on the waiting list rather than to the person who buys her house.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I considered allotment law and comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

Back to top

What I found

Allotments

5. The Council offers allotments to the person at the top of the waiting list.

What happened

6. Mrs X owns a house. Before 1995 she rented an allotment at the back of the house from a private organisation. The entrance to the allotment is via her house.
7. In 1995 the Council took control of the allotments. The private society no longer had any involvement. Mrs X signed a tenancy agreement with the Council for the allotment. Mrs X says she was bullied into signing it and did so under duress.
8. In 2018 Mrs X contacted the Council to say that under the rules of the private organisation (the pre-1995 rules) a plot could be let to the new house owner when the house was sold. She said this rule should be reinstated. This would mean that when she moves the new house owner would take over the plot.
9. In response the Council explained that the old rules no longer apply. It said the Council had managed the allotments since 1995 and that free allotments had to be offered to the person at the top of the waiting list. It said it would only offer the plot to the new house owner if they were also at the top of the waiting list for an allotment.
10. Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s response and complains about the transfer of the plots to Council control in 1995. She is unhappy with the way the Council has treated her since 2018.

Assessment

11. I will not start an investigation for the flowing reasons.
12. Mrs X has complained about what happened in 1995 when the Council took over control of the plots. I will not investigate these allegations because the transfer happened nearly 25 years ago. This is much longer 12 months ago. If Mrs X disagreed with what happened in 1995 she needed to have complained to the Ombudsman at that time and within one year. Mrs X says she is complaining about the way the Council has treated her since 2018 but all the recent correspondence relates to historic events and Mrs X’s dissatisfaction with the Council’s responses about those historic events.
13. I also will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council manages the allotments and the rules say a free plot must be offered from the waiting list. The rules do not say the Council can offer it to the new house owner. The Council’s decision is consistent with the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.
14. Finally, I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. Mrs X is worried about the transfer of the plot when she leaves her home. But, as she will no longer be living in the house, or have responsibility for the plot, then subsequent events regarding the plot will not affect her.

Back to top

Final decision

15. I will not start an investigation because it is a late complaint and because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. In addition, there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman