Resident who brought bin to Town Hall wrongfully banned from contacting council

The Tynwald Commissioner for Administration has ruled that the Chief Executive of Douglas Council shouldn’t have banned a resident in Douglas from having contact with the council.

From April 2023, the complainant, who has not been named, had been asking the council to investigate why there are nine commercial bins at the back of his property, which is adjacent to a pub.

Mr Beckett’s report set out a timeline with several events leading up to the decision, which includes the resident sending 49 emails in a period of four months, bringing a wheelie bin into the council offices and allegedly making ‘offensive’ comments on social media.

In June of that year, the resident brought a bin into the town hall (both parties dispute the ownership of these) which the Chief Executive felt was the ‘catalyst’ for action.

They said the bin was left in the reception area of the town hall to the ‘detriment and hygienic wellbeing’ of staff, and left them feeling ‘vulnerable’.

However, the complainant maintained the bin was empty and staff should understand how his family feels with nine of them behind his property.

Advocate Paul Beckett judged that the handling of the man’s complaints leading up to the ban amounted to maladministration.

The Tynwald Commissioner for Administration report centres around the local authority’s application of its ‘Unacceptable Behaviour Policy’ for six months last year.

Mr Beckett concluded it should not have been a factor because it was not ‘threatening’ to staff, under the policy guidance.