London Borough of Barnet (19 017 335)

Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 23 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot not investigate this complaint about the management of an allotment. The complainants have sought a remedy in court.

The complaint

  1. The complainants, who I refer to here as Ms B and Mr C, have complained the Council will not intervene in their dispute with the managers of an allotment. They believe the Council is wrong not to have kept oversight of how the allotment is managed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. It says we cannot investigate where a complainant has sought a remedy in court; we have no discretion in this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
  2. Case law has decided this restriction applies even if the court not provide a remedy for all the claimed injustice.

How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered what Ms B and Mr C said in their complaint and information on the allotment’s website. They commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

  1. The Council made all of its allotments self-managing in 2013. It did not keep any management responsibility although some have decided to use the Council to help resolve disputes. This was not a requirement and the allotment where Ms B and Mr C are members chose not to do this.
  2. In response to my draft decision, Ms B and Mr C said they had taken court action against the managers of the allotment.

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Final decision

  1. We cannot investigate this complaint because Ms B and Mr C have sought a remedy in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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