Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the failure of the Council to insist on the complainant’s neighbour submitting a planning application for change of use. This part of the complaint is late. We cannot investigate any concerns about an alcohol licence as this has been considered in court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr D, says the Council should have required his neighbours to apply for planning permission to change the use of their rear garden from agricultural and storage to a drinking and dining area for patrons of their café.
2. In 2020 the neighbour obtained a licence to sell alcohol and increase opening hours into late evening. Mr D says he challenged the licence but was bullied by his neighbour and threatened by the Council.
3. Mr D says he suffers from excessive noise which affects his and his families’ physical and mental health. And he cannot use his garden.
4. He wants the Council to limit the noise from the café garden and reinstate his privacy. If this is not possible he wants the café to submit a planning application with a view to the Council refusing it. The Council should also pay his legal fees and damages for the injustice he and his family have suffered.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. 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)
7. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered:
• information provided by Mr D and the Council
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code
• Mr D’s comments on the draft version of this decision.

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My assessment

9. In 2017 the Council received a planning application for installation of a new shop front and signage to the property next to his home. He says the Council should have insisted his neighbour also apply for change of use.
10. The neighbour opened the garden to café customers in 2018.
11. The law says a complaint should be made to us within 12 months of the complainant becoming aware of the problem. Mr D says the issue has been ongoing since at least 2018. His complaint is therefore late. Mr D has been in contact with multiple Council departments and other agencies since then.
12. Mr D also says he had to exhaust the Council’s complaints procedure before coming to us. However, our website says that if a complaint has been made but a response has not been received within a reasonable time, you can register a complaint with us. We think up to 12 weeks is usually a reasonable time.
13. Therefore, I see no reason he could not have complained to use much earlier. I do not intend to exercise discretion and investigate the part of this complaint which is late.
14. Mr D also complains about the Council’s decision to issue an alcohol licence. He says he objected to the licence but was bullied and threatened by the neighbour and the Council.
15. The information provided by Mr D includes court papers. These show changes to hours and conditions as settlement of the case.
16. As explained in paragraph 7 above, we cannot investigate any matters which have been considered by the courts, even if Mr D did not actually appear in court.

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Final decision

17. We will not and cannot investigate this complaint. This is because part of his complaint is too late. The remaining part of the complaint concerns matters which have been considered by the court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman