Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the siting of a bus stop. This is because the complaint is late without good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complained the Council has sited a bus stop outside her property and double decker buses are now stopping outside her back garden. Mrs Y says this impacts her privacy and she has concerns about security and she feels on show in the summer months to the general public.

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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 Mrs Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The law says people should normally complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of an issue. Complaints brought to the Ombudsman more than 12 months after someone becomes aware of something a council has done are considered late. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons.
6. Mrs Y’s was aware of her reason to complain about the Council’s actions when she initially complained in 2023 and again in January 2024, more than 12 months before she came to us in February 2025. Consequently, her complaint is now late.
7. We have discretion to disapply the rule outlined in paragraph three where we decide there are good reasons. Mrs Y has not provided any good reasons why she did not bring her complaint to us within 12 months of knowing about the matter. It is reasonable to expect her to have complained sooner.
8. As there are not sufficient good reasons for us to exercise discretion on this late complaint, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because the complaint is late without good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman