Vale Of White Horse District Council (22 015 660)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about having to pay the community infrastructure levy following a grant of planning permission for two new houses. This is because the complaint is late and the Valuation Office Agency is the appropriate body to determine liability for the levy.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s demand that he pay the community infrastructure levy (CIL) in relation to his building of two new houses. The Council granted planning permission for the development and issued a CIL Liability Notice in mid-2021.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’.
- 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)
- We may not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider the complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Because Mr X has known about his liability for the CIL since mid-2021 but did not complain to us until February 2023 his complaint is late. I have seen no good reasons for the delay in complaining to us and I have therefore decided not to exercise our discretion to investigate his complaint.
- However, even if the complaint was not late it is unlikely we would investigate it. This is because we are not an appeal body and we have no power to decide whether a development is liable for the CIL or the amount which should be paid.
- If Mr X wished to challenge his CIL liability it would have been reasonable for him to appeal to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which is the appropriate body to consider such matters.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and the VOA would have been better placed to consider whether Mr X should pay the CIL.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman