Surrey Heath Borough Council (20 000 656)
Category : Environment and regulation > Drainage
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 30 Jun 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the actions of the Council in connection with water ingress on to his land and that it is seeking to recover large legal costs from him. The Ombudsman cannot investigate the complaint because Mr X has started court action and so the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the Council, and not he, should be paying the large legal costs involved in his court case against the Council which he has brought in connection with drainage problems on his land.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- In considering the complaint I spoke to Mr X and took account of what he told me.
What I found
- Mr X says that in the 1960s the previous council which pre-dated this Council filled in land on the boundary with his land with rubble and that this led to the creation of a hill which caused water to run down into his garden causing problems.
- Mr X took the Council to court about this matter in 2005 and obtained a court order which required the Council to install a ditch and baffles to divert water away from his land.
- In 2008 Mr X says the Council reneged on the court order, removing the baffles and replacing them with weirs which meant the water came back onto his land.
- In December 2019 Mr X began further legal action against the Council and he currently awaits the judge’s decision. He says he expects to lose the case and that he will have to pay large legal costs which he believes the Council, and not he, should pay.
Assessment
- Mr X has taken court action against the Council and the judge will determine the case. The Ombudsman can have no involvement in this process or about which of the parties will pay legal costs.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate the complaint because Mr X has started court action and so the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman