Sedgemoor District Council (21 005 415)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Sep 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s interpretation of a Deed of Covenant on land close to the complainant’s home. The complaint is late and we have seen no reason to exercise discretion and investigate it now.
The complaint
- The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council has changed the legal definition of a Deed of Covenant on land appointed as badger foraging land close to his home.
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 information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate this complaint because it is late.
- Mr X says he has been aware of the Council's actions on the badger foraging land as early as 2014. He first complained to the Council in 2019 and received a stage 1 response. The Council told him once he had exhausted the Council's complaints procedure, he could complaint to us. However, he chose not to follow the Council's complaints procedure or approach us until 2021.
- The law says a complaint should be made to us within 12 months of a complainant becoming aware of the matter, not when the complaints procedure is exhausted. This complaint is therefore late.
- I have considered whether we should exercise discretion and investigate this late complaint. We consider complaints about fault in the Council’s administrative process. But Mr X asking us to decide a disputed point of law - interpretation of a Deed of Covenant. This is not our role. If Mr X believes the Council’s actions are unlawful, he can take legal action.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X's complaint because it is late and I have seen no reason he could not have asked us to consider his concerns sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman