The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint that the complainant’s land is incorrectly designated in the Council’s local plan policy. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Ms X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Ms X complained about land she owns being wrongly designated as a strategic gap between settlements, and the Council has therefore refused subsequent planning applications to develop it.
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 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
Ms X says land which she owns was designated as land reserved from development by the Council’s planners when the Local Plan was adopted in 1993. She says this was a repeat of a historic mistake by the Council’s predecessor authority and is due to an erroneous map being presented. She says the map was presented to the Planning Inspector when the Local Plan was devised and that as a result, she is unable to develop her land.
The 12-month time restriction detailed in paragraph 2 above applies to Ms X’s complaint. This is because she has been aware of the allegedly incorrect designation of her land for more than 12 months. There is no evidence to suggest that she could not have complained to us sooner.
Even if the 12-month time restriction did not apply, given that the events being complained about occurred so long ago, I do not consider it would be possible for the Ombudsman to conduct a fair and sound investigation into these matters now. The map was accepted by the Planning Inspectors in 1993 and is now a legal document.
In addition, the Ombudsman could not achieve the outcome Ms X is seeking. We have no power to make decisions on land allocations in the Council’s Local Plan or to direct the Council to change the designation of Ms X’s land.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint that the complainant’s land is incorrectly designated in the Council’s local plan policy. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Ms X could not have complained to us sooner
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman