West Devon Borough Council (20 006 119)

Statement Not upheld Other 12-Mar-2021

Summary: Mrs K complained the Council failed to use its statutory powers to bring a property next to her home into a reasonable standard of repair and occupation. The Council said it found no statutory nuisance and decided not to use is discretionary powers. We found no fault by the Council. It made a decision it was entitled to make. And so, we cannot criticise its decision.

Hertfordshire County Council (20 010 908)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 12-Mar-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to act on his report of blocked gullies near his home which is causing flooding of the highway and damage to his property from splashing by traffic. We should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely that we would find fault and it is reasonable to expect Mr X to raise any claim for damages through insurers and the courts, who are better placed than the Ombudsman to consider this.

London Borough of Lewisham (20 011 042)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 12-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s garden waste collections. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would add to the Council’s response and Mr X has not been caused any significant injustice. It is for the courts to determine if there has been a breach of contract.

Staffordshire County Council (20 011 520)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 12-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to properly clean/maintain the drains in the road outside his house. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to serve notice on the Council and take the matter to court.

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (20 011 568)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Trees 12-Mar-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to cut back tree branches which overhang his property. We should not investigate this complaint. This is because it concerns damage to property which is legal matter and can only be determined by insurers or the courts.

Cheshire West & Chester Council (20 000 525)

Statement Upheld Pollution 11-Mar-2021

Summary: The evidence does not show noise and pollution suffered by the complainant has come about because of fault by the Council, and so we cannot uphold this complaint. We also cannot make findings on his complaint about unsafe working practices, or damage to his property. However, the Council should have made more effort to communicate with residents, and this has caused the complainant an injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (20 002 586)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Trees 11-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that the Council is at fault in refusing to remove a tree close to her property. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.

London Borough of Redbridge (20 011 173)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 11-Mar-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Fixed Penalty Notice issued to him by the Council for putting his rubbish out on the wrong day. We will not investigate the complaint because the Council has taken action to cancel the Notice and has confirmed no further action will be taken in relation to it.

Swindon Borough Council (20 011 564)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Antisocial behaviour 11-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his report of fly tipping, and his claim the Council breached data protection matters. This is because it is unlikely that we would find fault in how the Council dealt with the reported fly tipping, and because the Information Commissioner is better placed to deal with complaints about data protection.

London Borough of Redbridge (20 002 389)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Antisocial behaviour 10-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council has failed to stop a neighbour causing her nuisance, delayed serving an abatement notice, and failed to communicate with her properly. The Council took action and apologised to Ms X for not replying to some of her communications. There is no ongoing injustice and it is not a good use of limited public resources to investigate.