Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about ground maintenance because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council has not cleared a patch of land behind her property, saying that the ground maintenance is a highways issue, when previously it has maintained the ground since 2016. He is also unhappy with the lack of explanation by the Council in its complaint response.
2. Mr Y says this has led to thick bramble growth, damaging the fence along his property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Since 2016 Mr Y says the Council has cleared overgrown vegetation along the boundary of his property. However, he complained to the Council about its failure to do so in 2024. The Council responded explaining that as there was no safety concern for the vegetation it would not clear the plants. It said that should any of the vegetation grow over the fence onto Mr Y’s land, he could cut this back himself and said Mr Y could make a claim to the Council’s insurers for any structural damage. Mr Y then approached us.
7. The legislation from which the Ombudsman takes their power also places some restrictions on what we may investigate. One of these concerns negligence claims about damage to property or personal injury. We cannot determine liability claims for negligence. These are legal claims which may only be determined by insurers or the courts.
8. We are not able to decide liability or award damages. Consequently, any claim for damages, such as costs for repairs or replacement fencing, which Mr Y considers the Council to be responsible for, are matters more appropriately dealt with by the courts. It is therefore reasonable for Mr Y to pursue his claim through either the Council’s insurer or the courts. We will not investigate this complaint.
9. Further, our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss of injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
10. While Mr Y may feel frustrated about the issue, the impact would not be a sufficiently serious loss, harm or distress to warrant investigation. We will therefore not investigate this complaint.
11. As we are not investigating the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public funds to investigate how the Council responded to Mr Y’s complaint and we will not investigate this.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement and there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman