Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council deciding not to take enforcement action against the change of use of land to a car park. This is because the complaint is late, and it is reasonable to expect the complainant to have contacted the Ombudsman within 12 months of becoming aware of his concerns about the use.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr B, is unhappy the Council has decided not to take enforcement action against the change of use of a garage premises to a 24/7 car park.
2. Mr B lives next to the site and says his privacy and amenity are affected by people using the car park.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered:
• Mr B’s complaint to the Ombudsman;
• The Council’s responses to Mr B’s complaint.
5. I also gave Mr B the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this statement.

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What I found

6. The 12-month time restriction detailed above applies to Mr B’s complaint. This is because I understand he first contacted the Council about the change of use in April 2017, and it informed Mr B of its decision not to pursue enforcement action at that time. Yet Mr B did not contact the Ombudsman until January 2019. I am unaware of any reasons why Mr B was prevented from complaining to the Ombudsman any sooner, so I do not consider should investigate his complaint now.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect him to have complained to the Ombudsman within 12 months of becoming aware of the Council’s decision not to pursue enforcement action.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman