Summary: We will not exercise discretion investigate this complaint about planning enforcement. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We will not investigate his complaint about the Council’s failure to handle his Freedom of Information request within the required timescale. The office of the Information Commissioner is best placed to consider these complaints.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take enforcement action over breaches of planning approval at a development near his home. He says he has been complaining since 2023 and the Council delayed responding and has taken no action over condition of the site. He also submitted a Freedom of Information request which the Council failed to respond to.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So, where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X says the Council has failed to take action over a development site near his home which he says is in breach of conditions related to landscaping and boundary treatment. He says he has been living for over three years near a site which is an eyesore and detracts from the amenity of the neighbourhood. He first complained in April 2023 but says the Council failed to provide any substantive response to him or his local councillor until late 2024.
7. The legislation from which we take our powers to investigate also places some restrictions on what we can consider. One of these restrictions relates to complaints about matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before they brought it to our attention. This restriction applies to Mr X’s complaint.
8. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
9. Mr X says he submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Council and that it failed to identify this and to deal with it within the required timescale. It is reasonable for him to raise the matter with the office of the Information Commissioner which is the proper authority for considering these matters.

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Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion investigate this complaint about planning enforcement. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner. We will not investigate his complaint about the Council’s failure to handle his Freedom of Information request within the required timescale. The office of the Information Commissioner is best placed to consider these complaints.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman