A couple who fought for compensation for almost twenty years have finally been awarded a settlement of £200,000, following a unique collaboration between the Local Government and Parliamentary Ombudsmen which found that both Norfolk County Council and the Department for Transport were guilty of maladministration. This was the fourth report into the affair.

The case concerned a decision in 1986, by Norfolk County Council, to build a bypass which would pass within a few feet of Maurice and Audrey Balchin’s home, Swans Harbour, but which did not encroach on their land.

After the plans were announced, Mr and Mrs Balchin put their house on the market but found it impossible to sell. The Council was invited to buy the property but declined to do so. In 1990, Mr Balchin’s bank, realising that the property was almost valueless, called in £100,000 worth of loans on the property, with the result that Mr and Mrs Balchin were forced to leave their home, sell most of their possessions and to move into rented accommodation. The plans for the bypass were eventually dropped in 1996, but by this time the couple’s finances were devastated by the Council’s initial decision and when they did eventually sell their house, they realised far less than its true value.

The Local Government Ombudsman concluded that the Council could not reasonably have refused to buy Swans Harbour had the matter been considered properly and the couple were entitled to compensation.

Mr and Mrs Balchin had to fight for a long time to get justice. It is clear that the current system of redress through the Ombudsman does not work well when cases cross more than one jurisdiction. This has prompted the Cabinet Office to carry out a consultation on reforms which, if adopted, would make it easier for the three main public sector Ombudsmen, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government Ombudsmen to work collaboratively on investigations and provide complainants with a more effective and streamlined service.

The consultation can be found at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/documents/ombudsmen_reform.pdf.