Leeds City Council (25 003 150)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delays in the Council’s planning enforcement investigation. This is because it is too late.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council delayed acting on her report of a planning breach. She said the Council’s financial remedy is an insult.
- Mrs X said her neighbour’s development is unsightly, has affected her privacy, and has devalued her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information and documents provided by Mrs X and the Council. I spoke to Mrs X about her complaint. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.
What I found
What happened
- In May 2022, Mrs X told the Council her neighbour had breached their planning permission. The Council had already started a planning enforcement investigation in 2021 after another neighbour complained.
- In May 2025, Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman. We told Mrs X she had to complain to the Council first, which she then did.
- The Council accepted it was at fault, apologised, and offered Mrs X £250.
Finding
- As I have set out above, we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons.
- Mrs X knew about the neighbour’s planning breach from at least 2021, and reported it to the Council in 2022. She complained to us in May 2025, three years later.
- I have considered Mrs X’s reasons for not complaining to us earlier. I find reasonable opportunities existed for Mrs X to have complained to us earlier than May 2025. I am not persuaded there are good reasons to exercise our discretion. For this reason, I have not investigated this complaint.
Decision
- I have not investigated this complaint because it is too late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman