Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (25 024 837)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to list their property on the local heritage list. This is because the complaint is late.
The complaint
- Mr and Mrs X complained the Council listed their property on the local heritage list despite their objection to it. Mr and Mrs X said the matter has caused them distress and frustration and they have not been able to sell their property or make any changes to it. They want the Council to remove their property from the list and to provide them with a financial remedy for the injustice caused.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 information provided by Mr and Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr and Mrs X said the Council listed their property on the local heritage list in 2000. They said at the time, they had opposed the decision. Mr and Mrs X said in 2008, the Council told them it would remove their property from the list. However, in 2021, Mr and Mrs X attempted to sell their property and became aware, their property was still listed on the local heritage list. They contacted the Council and in response, the Council said it would remove their property from the list however, it has failed to do this.
- We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why Mr and Mrs X did not complain to us sooner. We expect people to complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter complained of. It would have been reasonable for Mr and Mrs X to complain to us when they became aware of the Council’s decision to add their property on the list.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons why they did not complain to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman