Summary: Mrs X complains she was forced to stay in her boat overnight in July 2019 when the harbour bridge at Whitby would not open. The Ombudsman will not investigate as Mrs X’s complaint is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains she was forced to stay in her boat overnight in July 2019 when the harbour bridge at Whitby would not open.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the information provided by Mrs X and the Council and I sent my draft findings to Mrs X for comment. Mrs X made no further comment.

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What I found

4. Mrs X complains she was forced to stay in her boat overnight in July 2019 when the harbour bridge at Whitby would not open.
5. Mrs X believes this is a recurring problem and is unhappy as she does not consider the Council has addressed it.

Analysis

6. The matter Mrs X complains about took place more than one year ago. It seems reasonable to have expected Mrs X to have complained to us within a year of her knowing about the problem. I cannot therefore see good reasons for us to investigate now.

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Final decision

7. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs X’s complaint is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman