Summary: Mr X complained the Council would not complete an investigation into the cause of flooding at his property. Mr X stated the flooding caused him financial loss and significant stress. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to accept it now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council would not complete an investigation into a culvert under private land to identify the cause of flooding to his property. Mr X stated the flooding caused him financial loss, significant stress and hard work to repair the damage the floods caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read Mr X’s complaint and the documents he provided. I considered the documents provided by the Council. I have also consulted the Environment Agency Flood Risk Maps. Mr X had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X’s property is near to a culvert that goes under the road. The property is recognised by the Environment Agency as being in an area at high risk of flooding. In December 2015 the property flooded after a major weather event. Mr X made attempts to contact the Council in January 2016 and sent subsequent emails. Mr X made a complaint to the Council in June 2016 saying he thought the issue may be a blocked culvert and suggesting that the Council investigated this.
6. The Council provided a stage 2 response in July 2017. The Council confirmed it had completed a visual inspection of the length of culvert under its ownership. The visual inspection did not find any obstructions. It also said that the waterflow under privately owned land was the responsibility of the landowner. The Council stated it would only complete an inspection of those culverts where there was evidence of a blockage or that the owner was not maintaining them. There was no evidence of either of these at that time.
7. Mr X’s property flooded again in February and October 2020 after major weather events. Mr X complained to his MP in October 2020 stating that he had been asking the Council to investigate the Culvert since 2016. The MP forwarded Mr X’s complaint to the Council.
8. The Council responded and again explained it had inspected the areas of the culvert under its control and found no blockage. It also reiterated that it would only investigate waterways under privately owned land if there was evidence of blockage and the landowner’s failure to maintain them.
9. Dissatisfied with the Council’s response Mr X complained to us in February 2021.

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Analysis

10. The restriction outlined in paragraph 2 applies as Mr X has been aware of the problem since December 2015. We have discretion to disapply this rule where we decide there is good reason. In this case I have decided not to exercise discretion because Mr X has not provided any good reason why he did not complain to us within 12 months. It is reasonable to expect him to have complained to us sooner.
11. The restriction outlined in paragraph 3 applies because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants. We cannot compel the Council to complete an investigation into a culvert under privately owned land with no evidence of blockage or maintenance failure. Nor can we make the Council compel the landowners to complete the investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to accept it now. And we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman