South Hams District Council (23 007 760)
Category : Environment and regulation > Antisocial behaviour
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled the complainant’s reports about a neighbour feedings birds in their garden. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about how the Council dealt with reports that a neighbour feeds birds in their garden. Mr X says the issue causes a nuisance in the area and the Council’s response was unsatisfactory.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X reported the issued to the Council via his local councillor. The Council wrote to other residents in the area and asked them to provide evidence of the issue, two videos were received which the Council reviewed. The Council carried out four site visits and stayed for around an hour each time.
- During the Council’s site visits, officers did not see any person feeding birds. The videos provided to the Council also did not show that birds were being fed. It therefore concluded that there was insufficient evidence to take any formal action. It did however write to the person in question and told them not to feed birds in their garden in the future.
- The Ombudsman can only criticise the Council’s decision not to take further action if there was fault in the way that decision was made. The Council has carried out numerous site visits and considered evidence provided by neighbours. Whilst Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s decision not to take further action I have not seen any evidence of fault in how that decision was reached.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman