Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the way the Council dealt with a planning application and handled the complaint about the matter. The complaint is late, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council acted with fault in the way it dealt with a planning application for a mast. She says it also failed to deal with her complaint properly.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Ms X approached us over 19 months after the Council approved the planning application. The complaint is late because she was aware of the matter over 12 months before she complained to us. We may accept a late complaint if someone could not have complained to us sooner. However, Ms X was able to complain to the Council in the autumn of 2024 and had had two responses by January 2025, so she could have approached us much sooner. It is not a good use of public resources to consider how the Council dealt with Ms X’s complaint as we are not investigating the substantive matters.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman