Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning permission and a highway obstruction because the matter is partly out of time, there is a legal remedy and there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about an obstruction to a highway preventing access to his house.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X says that planning permission should not have been granted for a barrier in 2011 as it prevented access to his house. Mr X complained to the Council to the time. In 2025 the Council accepted that the barrier should be moved and is currently pursuing the matter.
8. Where the council identifies an obstruction, a statutory time frame may have to be employed to allow for its removal before formal enforcement action can be taken. This can vary between 24 hours and 28 days depending upon the type of obstruction. The council should begin by asking the landowner to clear the obstruction. The penalty for non compliance could include removal of the obstruction, with reasonable costs being recovered from the offender. If the landowner fails to comply the Council can start court proceedings to force the owner to comply.
9. The complainant has the right to serve a notice on the Council requiring it to clear an obstruction (Highways Act 1980 sec 130 A to D). If it fails to do so, the complainant can then ask the Magistrates Court to order it to do so.
10. I am satisfied that a complaint in 2011 could reasonably have been made to this office within 12 months and so this part of the complaint is out of time. Mr X also had a legal remedy which I consider to have been a reasonable option for him.
11. The Council is currently pursuing the obstruction and there is no evidence of fault in the way it has acted in this current matter. The Ombudsman would not therefore investigate this matter at this time. Further, Mr X continues to have a legal remedy.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is out of time, there is a legal remedy and there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman