Overview
The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns regarding Renfrewshire Council (the Council)'s decision to advertise a piece of land (the Land) for sale and to declare it surplus to the Council's requirements.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the Council acted in an unethical, unprofessional and underhand manner by placing a newspaper advertisement offering the Land for sale without any consultation or notification of interested parties (not upheld);
- (b) the Council placed undue pressure on members of the Council's Planning and Development Board (the Board) by stating that income from the sale of the Land would be used to augment the Council's future budget (not upheld);
- (c) the Land should not have been offered for sale without the Board's approval (not upheld); and
- (d) the Land is officially designated as woodland and has been adopted as an area of leisure and recreation by virtue of 35 years historic usage (not upheld).
Redress and recommendation
The Ombudsman has no recommendations to make.