Suffolk County Council (21 002 999)

Category : Environment and regulation > Drainage

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 06 Jan 2022

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr X complained the Council has failed to clear a ditch and maintain the drains along roads near his property. He says this has led to flooding affecting his garden and on the road. The Council was not at fault.

The complaint

  1. Mr X complained the Council has failed to clear a ditch and maintain the drains along roads near his property. He says this has led to blockages which have caused localised flooding affecting his garden and on the road. He wants the Council to clear the ditch, unblock the drains and to maintain them through a regular maintenance schedule.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke with him about it on the phone. I considered information he provided.
  2. I made enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent me.
  3. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

  1. Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 imposes a duty on councils acting as the local highway authority to maintain highways at public expense. This includes any drainage which is part of that highway.
  2. Landowners have responsibility for the natural flow of water across their land. Where land adjoining a highway and containing a ditch is privately owned, it is the landowner’s responsibility to maintain the ditch and ensure water can flow freely along it.

The Council’s Highway Maintenance Operational Plan

  1. Suffolk Council acts as the local highway authority for roads in its area. It has an operational plan to support its road maintenance service. This sets out the Council’s approach to how it will maintain highways in its area. It includes standards to maintain drainage features to reduce the build-up of standing water on roads which can cause a potential hazard for both drivers and pedestrians.
  2. The Council takes a risk-based approach to non-routine maintenance, prioritising repairs where the defect is largest or likely to cause the biggest problem. Greater priority is given to the roads that carry the most vehicles and less priority to the quieter roads.
  3. Some works are completed on a routine, “cyclical” basis and form part of planned works. The plan says the cleansing of gullies (road drainage points covered by a metal grate) and kerb offlets form part of this regular work and will be completed, on average, every 12 months.
  4. Ditches maintained by the Council will be cleared of vegetation and dug out when blockages are identified or reports of flooding are received. Where a ditch is owned by someone else, the owner may be requested to clear the blockage.

What happened

  1. In February 2021, Mr X complained to the Council. He said the road outside his property was repeatedly flooding, caused by blocked drains on the highway and a blocked ditch. He said contractors had visited the previous day, but had jet washed the drains with water in freezing temperatures. This had not cleared the drains but instead had left frozen surface water, adding to the hazardous conditions. He asked the Council to complete works to rectify the problem and to stop the road flooding again.
  2. In March 2021, the Council completed a site visit. It acknowledged the drains near Mr X’s home had not been properly cleansed and decided a ditch near Mr X’s property needed clearing.
  3. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. It apologised to him that the contractors had attended at an inappropriate time and so could not complete all the cleansing works. It said it had raised this issue with the contractors and had arranged to have the remaining drains cleansed and the ditch cleared within eight weeks.
  4. Mr X remained unhappy. He said the planned works would not solve the problem.
  5. The Council provided a further complaint response in April. It said the original planned work was to cleanse five gullies. Although it appreciated the work in February did not achieve much, it had now agreed to complete the planned work and clear the ditch, even though it was not clear who owned the land and whether the ditch was Council responsibility.
  6. The Council visited and cleared part of the ditch. They also met with Mr X to discuss the situation.
  7. The Council sent two enforcement notices to nearby landowners asking them to clear roadside ditches on their land to help reduce the volume of water running down the hill towards Mr X’s road.
  8. In May 2021, the Council completed the cleansing of the drains outside Mr X’s house.
  9. Mr X escalated his complaint to stage 2 of the Council’s complaints process. The Council said it was aware a site visit to finish clearing the ditch was outstanding, but apart from this, it believed it had fully addressed his complaint. It said the work to finish clearing the ditch would start in June 2021.
  10. In June the Council contractor visited the site. They decided the ditch did not need further work as, although only part of the ditch had been cleared, the other part was not an essential part of the drainage system.
  11. Mr X remained unhappy and brought his complaint to us.
  12. In its response to our enquiries, the Council said it had completed work to clear the drains and the ditch between March and June 2021. Its enforcement team had also sent two notices to landowners asking them to clear ditches at the top of the hill and this work was completed in June and July 2021. It also said it had scheduled CCTV work and high pressure jet washing as part of planned work for 2021/22. It said it hoped this work would resolve the nature and location of the blockage and help the Council move towards a longer-term solution to keep the drains clear and prevent further flooding in Mr X’s road. It said it was also working to clarify who owned the ditch near Mr X’s home and to establish who was responsible for its maintenance.
  13. Mr X has told us the Council has recently visited to complete further work but their investigation into the cause of the problem was still ongoing.

Analysis

  1. When Mr X complained in February 2021, the Council acted appropriately by investigating his complaint and visiting the site. It accepted the contractor had visited at an inappropriate time which meant they could not complete the work to cleanse the drains. It apologised to Mr X for this and said it had raised the matter with its contractor. It said the work would be completed within eight weeks. This was an appropriate response to Mr X’s complaint.
  2. Between March and July 2021, the Council completed the drain cleansing works, cleared the ditch to a level they considered sufficient and ensured landowners further up the hill cleared roadside ditches to reduce the level of water running down the road. These were appropriate actions in response to Mr X’s complaint.
  3. The Council has also scheduled further work for this year to help establish the cause of the problem and try and find a longer-term solution.
  4. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. The Council appropriately considered Mr X’s complaint and took action to ensure work was completed in the short term. Although Mr X wants the Council to do further work to clear the ditch, the Council has assessed the situation and decided no further work is needed. It has also put a longer-term plan in place for works to establish the cause and location of the blockage, and these investigations are ongoing. The Council considered Mr X’s complaint and took action as it considered appropriate. There was no fault in how the Council reached its decisions and so I cannot question the decisions made. The Council was not at fault.

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Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation. The Council was not at fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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