London Borough of Harrow (19 013 774)
Category : Planning > Building control
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s alleged failure to take enforcement action against a property he says was built without planning permission. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there is no reason Mr X could not have complained to the Ombudsman much earlier.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s alleged failure to take enforcement action against a property he says was built without planning permission.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I also gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.
What I found
- Mr X complains about the Council’s alleged failure to take enforcement action against a property he says was built without planning permission. Mr X says the property is damaging his own – which is next door. Mr X says the property in question has been there since 2003.
- The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are clear and compelling reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. I see no reason Mr X could not have complained much earlier and so the exception at paragraph 3 applies to his complaint.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there is no reason Mr X could not have complained much earlier.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman