Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council advised Mrs X to apply for planning permission for change of use. The complaint is late and there is no reason why Mrs X could not have contacted us much sooner. Also it is reasonable to expect her to complain to the Information Commissioner it she believes the Council is withholding information.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that in 2022 the Council told her to apply for a change of use to operate a hairdressers from her home. She says it knew the application would not be successful and wants the application fee refunded.

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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 has done.

(Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

4. We investigate 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’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X says she approached the Council in 2022 and was told she should apply for planning permission to change the use of her home to enable her to run a hairdressing business from the property. She says a few weeks later she was told by a different officer that the Council would never approve such an application.
8. Mrs X wants a refund of the planning application fee because she says she was given the wrong information when she was told to apply for planning permission.
9. The law says a complaint must be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the problem. She was given the information in 2022. Her planning application was refused in 2023. Therefore she has been aware of the matter for than three years and her complaint is late.
10. Mrs X also complains the Council refuses to give her information she has asked for. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate matters freedom of information. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was set up to investigate complaints of this nature. It would therefore be reasonable for Mrs X to refer her complaint to the ICO.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and I have seen no reason why she could not have complained to us much sooner. Also, it is reasonable for her to complain to the ICO about the Council’s refusal to provide information.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman