Summary: Mr X complained about the Authority’s decision to serve a repairs notice on him in 2010 which it withdrew in 2018 following a change of staff. He says it acted unreasonably in taking enforcement action over a period of several years. The Ombudsman should not exercise his discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters which we investigated in 2011 and which took place more than 12 months ago. Mr X did not complain about the decision to withdraw the repairs notice within 12 months of being informed of the decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complained about the Authority’s enforcement actions against him since 2004 over listed farm buildings which he owns. He says it refused his planning applications and later served a repairs notice on him with a view to compulsory purchasing the site which it said he was neglecting. The Authority subsequently withdrew the notice in 2018. He says this has cost him considerable expense in time and legal advice over the years. He also says the Authority should have informed him it was considering removing the notice in 2015.

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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. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Authority’s response and our previous investigation into this matter. Mr X has commented on a draft copy of my decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X says the Authority’s officers took a bullying and unreasonable attitude towards his upkeep and repair of a listed farm which he bought in 1988. He says the Authority required him to undertake repairs which were beyond what was necessary for the condition of the listed building and that it made false allegations about his alleged neglect of the listed structures.
6. Mr X made a similar complaint to the Ombudsman in 2010 (case 09R014098). In that complaint we concluded that the Authority’s actions were reasonable within its statutory powers to safeguard the upkeep of listed buildings. We also decided that Mr X had previously exercised his right of appeal against planning refusals for applications he had submitted.
7. At the time of our report in 2011 the Authority was considering serving a repairs notice with a view to compulsory purchasing the site. Mr X made his concerns in his complaint to us. We advised Mr X in the report that should the Authority take such action he would have a right to challenge the notice and subsequently other court appeal rights in any compulsory purchase action. We stated in the report that it would be reasonable for him to exercise such rights in the future and he had used the advice of a QC available up to then.
8. Mr X made a new complaint to the Authority in 2018 when it withdrew the repairs notice. He said that following the retirement of the case officer in 2015 it had realised its error in pursuing this course of action. The Authority informed him that the notice was withdrawn because the chance of compulsory purchase was unlikely due to the passage of time and expense.
9. The Authority accepted that it could have removed the notice in 2015 when compulsory purchase was no longer considered practical. The Authority closed his new complaint in May 2019. Mr X did not complain to us until August 2020 which is more than 12 months after he became aware of the withdrawal of the notice.
10. The Ombudsman will not exercise his discretion to consider this complaint which was made out of time. This is because many issues were addressed in the previous investigation and those since 2018 concerning the notice withdrawal were within the Authority’s statutory powers to carry out.

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Final decision

The Ombudsman should not exercise his discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns matters which we investigated in 2011 and which took place more than 12 months ago. Mr X did not complain about the decision to withdraw the repairs notice within 12 months of being informed of the decision.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman