Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to demolish some garages and replace them with a holiday property. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s action and we do not consider the complainant has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrant our involvement. Finally the law says we cannot investigate something which affects all or most of the people in a council’s area.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council ignored the views of the Town Council and residents when it decided to demolish a block of garages and replace them with a holiday let.
2. He says the Council is risking half a million pounds of council taxpayer’s money.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
5. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. Mr X complains about the Council’s Economic Committee decision to approve a recommendation to demolish a block of garages and replace them with a holiday property to let.
9. Mr X says:
• He can no longer rent a garage
• The holiday let will cause more traffic and disturbance
• The location is unstable and vibrations from building may damage nearby properties; and
• the Council will be risking taxpayers’ money

He wants the decision to build the holiday let overturned and more parking providing for residents.

10. The Council will have to apply for planning permission to demolish the garages and build the holiday property. It will have to publicise the application and consider all objections on material planning grounds before deciding whether to approve the application or not.
11. Therefore, as a planning application has not yet been submitted, the injustice claimed by Mr X is speculative.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. We do not consider the Council decision to approve a project with a view to submitting a planning application for a holiday property has caused him sufficient personal injustice to warrant our involvement.
13. Also, Mr X is concerned about the possible financial loss to all taxpayers. As stated above the law prevents us from investigating something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman