Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to install a vehicle crossover he paid for in 2021. This is because the complaint is late and we consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to bring the matter to us at the time.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council refused to construct a vehicle crossover at his property in 2021 despite him paying the required fee. The Council has now threatened to fine him for driving over the kerb so he has obtained a new permission from the Council for the crossover. But Mr X complains the cost is significantly higher than previously agreed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’.
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X knew the Council had decided not to proceed with the vehicle crossover at some point in 2021. The Council says it put the case on hold in April 2021 due to concerns about drainage but there is nothing to suggest it told Mr X about this until October. Mr X queried the Council’s decision at the time but did not complain; he requested a refund in November 2021 due to the delay and the Council refunded his payment, although Mr X says this took some time.
7. Mr X complained to the Council following a visit to his property in 2023. The officer who visited explained the Council had received reports Mr X had been driving over the kerb to access his driveway, which is not allowed. The Council therefore warned Mr X not to continue as he risked enforcement and a fine.
8. When Mr X explained what had happened previously the officer advised him to submit a new application for a crossover and he has now done this. But Mr X is unhappy the cost of carrying out the work is significantly higher than it was when his initial application was approved in 2021.
9. Because Mr X has known about the Council’s refusal to install the dropped kerb for more than 12 months his complaint about the matter is late. I appreciate the reasons Mr X has complained now but this does not bring the complaint back into time or provide good reasons for us to exercise our discretion to investigate it.
10. Mr X disagreed with the Council’s decision not to install the dropped kerb in 2021 and it would have been reasonable for him to complain about the issue at the time. He did not do this and instead requested a refund of the fee as he was entitled to do. But this did not mean he had any right to come back to the application two years later and expect the Council to honour the original estimate. The cost of materials and construction work has increased significantly in the last two years and it was Mr X’s choice not to pursue his complaint at the time.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and I have seen no good reasons to exercise our discretion to investigate it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman