Staffordshire County Council (19 001 620)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 25-Oct-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the quality of resurfacing work on a road where he lives. The Council is not at fault for the way it monitored the work and assessed Mr X’s reports of road defects. In addition, if Mr X believes the road is not up to standard it is open to him to apply to a magistrates’ court for an order requiring the Council to bring it up to standard.

Cambridgeshire County Council (19 010 252)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 23-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about pothole damage to his car as it is reasonable to expect him to take legal action for the compensation he seeks.

Cambridgeshire County Council (19 010 904)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 23-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council will not compensate him for damage caused to his car by a pothole. The complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit as he considers it reasonable for Mr X to take legal action for the compensation he seeks.

West Sussex County Council (19 008 864)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 21-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council wrongly measured the depth of potholes in the road. This is because the matter did not cause Mr X significant injustice.

Warrington Council (19 008 241)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 18-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about damage to her car from the public highway. This is because it is reasonable for her to seek compensation through the courts.

Suffolk County Council (19 008 500)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 18-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about roadworks outside his home. This is because the injustice he has suffered is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

Essex County Council (19 008 183)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 17-Oct-2019

Summary: Ms B complains about the Council’s failure to carry out repairs to two manhole covers in front of her home. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (19 009 151)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 16-Oct-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains about damage caused to her car by a pothole. She says the Council has not reimbursed her for the cost of her repairs and it refuses to accept liability for the damage caused. She wants it to compensate her for the cost she incurred to repair the damage. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of redress in the courts to seek compensation to recover the cost of her repairs.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (19 007 994)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 16-Oct-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council retaining a deposit to adopt a road which was paid to a former council in 1971. The Ombudsman should not exercise his discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint concerns matters which the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before the normal period for receiving complaints.

Essex County Council (19 008 535)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 16-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the state of the road outside her house. If Mrs X believes the Council has failed to properly maintain the road, and that she had suffered damage to her property as a result, it would be reasonable for her to take the matter to court.