Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and another body is better placed to consider the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council failed to repair a set of kerbstones near his property since he raised the issue with it in 2023 and several times since then.
2. Mr Y says children have been playing with bits of the kerbstones in September 2024 and had begun throwing the kerbstones, causing a danger to others and to property. Mr Y is concerned, without repairs, someone will be hurt and is seeking a repair urgently.

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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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. In January 2025, after Mr Y approached the Ombudsman, the Council carried out a temporary repair to the kerb outside Mr Y’s property and removed the broken pieces of kerbstones. It also added the issue to a list of repairs it would consider completing as part of planned maintenance programmes in the future.
6. As the Council has now completed a repair, even if it is temporary, rather than permanent and made the area safe and has considered the priority need of the remaining work, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
7. If we were to investigate this complaint and find fault causing injustice, we would potentially recommend the Council consider whether the work needed a permanent repair urgently, but as this has already been done there is no worthwhile outcome achievable from our investigation. For these reasons we will not investigate this complaint.
8. Further, if Mr Y remains concerned about the quality of the repair, or the safety of the highway, he is able to apply to the Magistrates Court for an order to be made under section 56 of the Highways Act 1980. While a Council is expected to routinely monitor the state of highways, the level of maintenance and threshold for repair is open to interpretation.
9. An order from the Magistrates Court can require the Council to carry out specified works, where we can only ask the Council to consider if the work needs completing. Further, the court is in the best position to decide whether the Council has met its legal duty to maintain the highway. Also, unlike the Ombudsman, the court can order the Council to do the required work, so it is better placed than us to consider the complaint. We will therefore not investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and another body is better placed to consider the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman