Guildford Borough Council (23 005 879)
Category : Environment and regulation > Antisocial behaviour
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about reports of antisocial behaviour. This is because the Council has already offered a good solution to the issue, so an investigation will not give Miss X a different outcome.
The complaint
- Miss X complained about noise happening at her next-door neighbour’s home.
- She said the noise has caused stress for her and her child.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In August 2022, Miss X complained to the Council because of noise coming from her next-door neighbour’s home.
- The Council sent the neighbour a warning letter, but the noise did not stop, so Council officers went to the property to listen for themselves. Miss X also sent the Council noise sheets she completed whenever she heard the noise. The officers did not hear the noise Miss X was complaining about and closed the case.
- Miss X was still unhappy with the situation so in response to the Ombudsman’s questions, the Council agreed to install equipment at Miss X’s home which would record the noise she was complaining about and give the Council a chance to see if it could take action against her neighbour. The Council has confirmed the equipment was installed on 14 September 2023 and it will remove it on 27 September 2023.
- Now that the Council has taken reasonable action to address Miss X’s complaint, this would not be case we would look into further. This is because, an investigation would not result in anything different for Miss X.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because an investigation will not give Miss X a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman