Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a licence issued for the complainant to use green space at the end of his garden. This is because it is made late and I see no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to only grant him a licence to use green space at the end of his garden for a maximum of three years. Mr X says the Council granted licences for other residents for longer and the Council has now issued him a notice ending the licence.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. In 2017, the Council granted Mr X with a licence to use land at the end of his garden. The length of the licence was three years. In 2020, Mr X complained to the Council about the length of the licence and the Council’s plan to terminate the licence. The Council ended the licence in 2023.
9. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the length of time the licence was issued for. This is because these events happened too long ago, and I see no good reason why Mr X could not have complained sooner. Mr X could have asked the Ombudsman to intervene when the Council issued its final response to his complaint in 2020, in which it signposted Mr X to our service.
10. There is no evidence of fault with the Council’s decision to issue a notice to end Mr X’s licence. The licence period had ended and therefore this was a decision the Council was entitled to make. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
11. In recent correspondence with the Council, Mr X has suggested he has a legal right over the land. This is a matter that Mr X would need to raise with the courts. Only the courts can determine disputes about land ownership.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman