North Somerset Council (22 014 025)
Category : Transport and highways > Rights of way
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Feb 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to a boundary dispute. The complainant has a legal remedy available against the Council which we reasonably expect him to use. This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council refuse to confirm the line of a boundary which he says is backed up by historical plans.
- He says sections of his land have been removed to allow a developer to erect a retaining wall.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X disputes the boundary line between his property and the highway.
- The Council has provided maps which it says shows the boundary. Mr X disagrees and says he has provided maps which show the boundary in an different location.
- The Ombudsman cannot decide the location of the boundary. It is open to Mr X to take legal action against the Council as this is a matter for the courts.
- As we would reasonably expect Mr X to use this alternative remedy, the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because we cannot decide where the boundary should be. Mr X has a legal remedy available against the Council which it is reasonable to expect him to use.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman