Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to require a developer to transfer land to a parish council. We do not consider the complainant has suffered enough personal injustice to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to transfer land on the development where she lives to the parish council.
2. She says she is exhausted from pursuing the matter since July 2022 and is worried the green space will become unkempt and attract fly tipping, illegal parking, and illegal encampments.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complains land has not been transferred to the parish council as indicated as part of the planning application for the housing development where she lives.
7. The Council acknowledges the land transfer is stated on the approved conveyance plan. And this was referred to in the planning officer’s report on the outline planning application. However, it did not consider there was planning justification to transfer the green space. Therefore, it did not attach any conditions to the planning permission requiring this or include the transfer in the legal planning agreement.
8. Our Assessment Code says we will not normally investigate a complaint unless there is good reason to believe that the complainant has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the Council. This means that we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the service provider. We understand Mrs X is concerned that the green space may be abused and there may be fly tipping etc. However, to date this has not happened.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. We recognise the time and trouble she has gone to in pursuing this complaint, however, we do not consider she has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman