City of York Council (20 010 822)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 02-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his report of a defect in the pavement. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to serve notice on the Council and take the matter to court. The issue has also not caused Mr X significant personal injustice.

Leicestershire County Council (20 008 944)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 25-Feb-2021

Summary: The complainant says the Council refuses to repair highway defects he reports and refuses to step up his complaints. We will not investigate this complaint as we are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council deals with reported defects. And it is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

West Sussex County Council (20 010 163)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 22-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to repair the road where he lives. The Ombudsman does not intend to investigate this complaint because Mr X has the right to take court action.

City of York Council (20 004 703)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 19-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr B complained that when work was undertaken on a public right of way, he was unable to use the advertised diversion. Mr B said he was stressed and inconvenienced by the actions of the Council because he was unable to use the diversions. Mr B said the Council breached the Equality Act 2010 because it did not consider the needs of disabled road users. We did not find fault with how the Council co-ordinated the diversion. We did find found fault with the Council’s complaint handling. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr B to remedy the injustice caused.

Staffordshire County Council (19 020 198)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 18-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to resolve the problem of flooding on the highway outside his house. And failed to respond to his complaints. We do not intend to investigate this complaint as we are satisfied with the action the Council proposes to take to reduce the flooding. We do not consider an investigation of the failures in the complaints procedure alone to be a good use of our resources.

Cheshire East Council (20 009 981)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 18-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to resolve his complaints about traffic noise and vibration from a potholed road surface and defective street lighting in his area. We should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Sheffield City Council (20 010 760)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 17-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate how the Council has resurfaced the pavement outside the complainant’s home. We are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council causing the complainant significant injustice.

London Borough of Croydon (19 014 642)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 16-Feb-2021

Summary: The Council did not implement the remedy it agreed with the Ombudsman during a previous complaint about flooding on the road where the complainant lives. But the Council took action which has resolved the outstanding issue and no further action by the Ombudsman is needed.

Buckinghamshire Council (20 006 012)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 16-Feb-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about repairs to the public highway close to his home. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or that Mr X has suffered significant personal injustice. Also, if Mr X remains unhappy with the condition of the public highway, it is reasonable for Mr X to use the legal remedy available to him.

Surrey County Council (20 010 062)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Highway repair and maintenance 15-Feb-2021

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to accept responsibility for maintaining the road on which he lives. We should not investigate this complaint. This is because based on the evidence we have we could not provide a suitable remedy for this complaint. It would be reasonable for Mr X or other residents to seek a ruling from the courts about ownership of the highway.