The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to properly oversee a development which resulted in significant damage to a local landmark. This is because the complaint is late and the Council was not responsible for the decisions or actions which caused the damage.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council failed to provide oversight of the Borough Council’s handling of development which led to the collapse of the Gorleston White Lion Steps in Great Yarmouth in April 2012. He also complains the Council has failed to respond to his freedom of information (FoI) requests.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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) The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Any complaint about the Council’s actions as a consultee for the planning application determined by the Borough Council prior to April 2012 is more than nine years late. We also could not hold the Council responsible for the decision or the actions which caused the collapse of the retaining wall resulting in damage to the steps as it was neither the local planning authority which granted planning permission nor the developer that carried it out.
Mr X has more recently made several FoI requests to the Council which he says it has failed to respond to but this is a matter more appropriate for consideration by the Information Commissioner and we consider it would be reasonable for Mr X to use the alternative remedy available to him in this case.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and the Council was not responsible for the decisions which led to the collapse of the steps. If Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s handling of his FoI request it would be reasonable for him to complain to the Information Commissioner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman