Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the past and current conduct of a Council officer involved in planning enforcement action taken against Ms X and Mr Y. This is because the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time, we cannot look at matters already considered by the courts and because the complainants have a potential remedy through the courts.

The complaint

1. Ms X and Mr Y complain about the past and current conduct of a Council officer involved in planning enforcement action taken against them by the Council over a number of years. They say the action has affected them both financially and mentally and they want the officer removed from dealing with their case.

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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 provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
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 complainants.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Over a number of years, the Council has been involved in taking planning enforcement action in relation to planning breaches on land owned and occupied by the complainants. Some of these have led to legal action being taken by the Council against them.
9. The restrictions highlighted in paragraphs 3-5 above apply to this complaint. As Ms X and Mr Y could reasonably have complained to us sooner about past events, these fall outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and will not be investigated.
10. By law, we cannot investigate matters about the start of court action or what happened in court. We have no discretion here.
11. We will also not normally investigate a complaint when the complainant can take the matter to court. Ms X and Mr Y will have/have had appeal rights to the courts in relation to some of the action taken against them by the Council and we would reasonably have expected them to have made use of this alternative remedy.
12. The Council considered the complainants’ complaint but declined to take any further action in relation to it because it cannot separate their concerns about officers from the substantive issues regarding the alleged breaches of planning control which have been the subject of court proceedings. In such proceedings it will have been open to the complainants to challenge evidence presented by the Council, including their claims of bias and misconduct by officers.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint because it falls outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time, we cannot look at matters already considered by the courts and because the complainants have a potential remedy through the courts.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman