Cornwall Council (26 015 491)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a claim for compensation after X was told to vacate their property. This is because the complainant has an alternative legal remedy, to pursue a claim of negligence through the courts.
The complaint
- X complains the Council forced them to leave their property and has refused to offer them compensation for their financial losses.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
- Negligence claims and interpreting the law around civil liability are generally best decided by a court where the Council does not accept insurance liability. Only a court can decide whether the problem should have been dealt with by the Council before it caused damage to a person’s property, or if it is liable to pay damages for a person’s loss.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Assessment
- I will not investigate X’s complaint. Only the courts can decide whether the Council was negligent and should pay compensation. It is therefore reasonable for X to use their legal remedy.
- Furthermore, the issues raised happened several years ago and are made late. I see no good reason why X could not have complained sooner.
Final decision
- We will not investigate X’s complaint because they have an alternative legal remedy through the courts. Only the courts can achieve the outcome they are looking for, so it is reasonable to expect them to use this remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman