Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint alleging the Council demolished his access driveway by mistake. This is because the complaint has been made late and there are no good reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council demolished the access driveway to his land by mistake. He says this made the driveway unsafe to use and wants the Council to restore it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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 provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council this year about it demolishing his access driveway.
7. The Council’s complaint response to Mr X declined to investigate his complaint. It said his complaint matters had been considered by the Planning Inspectorate, other agencies and the courts. It said it had nothing further to add.
8. We previously decided Mr X’s complaint lay outside of our jurisdiction citing his appeal to the Planning Inspectorate plus court action.
9. Mr X came back to say that my previous decision was flawed. He said the driveway issue he complains of was not covered by the Planning Enforcement Notice I had relied on when reaching that decision.
10. I have reconsidered the matter and still do not find the Ombudsman should investigate. This is because the key Council action that Mr X complains of - the Council allegedly demolishing his access driveway - took place 13 years ago, in 2013. We will not investigate as the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate now. Given the passage of time, Mr X was aware of the matters complained about, long before he approached the Ombudsman.
11. I have considered whether there are good reasons to investigate. I have seen no evidence of any circumstance that prevented Mr X from bringing his complaint to us significantly earlier. While he remains dissatisfied with the outcome and continues to dispute the Council's position, this does not amount to a good reason for us to investigate events that occurred over a decade ago.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X's complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons for the Ombudsman to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman