The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner about the Council’s investigation of noise from a care home.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to take sufficient action over noise from a nearby care home. She has complained to the Council for 5-6 years and it has not taken any action against the business to reduce the noise.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says she has been disturbed by noise from a nearby care home business for the past 5-6 years. She complained to us in 2016 about the noise breaching planning conditions and in 2020 complained to the Council’s environmental health team about the noise nuisance.
The Council investigated the complaint and monitored the noise at different times between August and December. The officers concluded that there was insufficient noise to amount to a statutory nuisance as it was sporadic and insufficiently loud in terms of decibels.
Mrs X made a similar complaint in 2021 and again the premises were monitored with the same conclusion. The Council also advised Mrs X that even had there been sufficient noise to warrant serving a notice, the notice could be appealed on the grounds of Best Practical Means which provides a defence in law against action over noise generated by the normal functions of a business.
We will not exercise discretion to investigate Mrs X’s complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that she could not have complained to us sooner as she has previously used our service in 2016.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner about the Council’s investigation of noise from a care home.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman