Summary: Miss X complained the Council did not take proper action in response to her complaint about a flooding problem on the carriageway outside her property. The Council was at fault because it delayed completing an investigation. This caused Miss X uncertainty, frustration and time and trouble. The Council has agreed it will apologise to Miss X and pay her £100 for the frustration, time and trouble the matter has caused her. The Council will also complete its investigation and inform Miss X of the outcome and the action it proposes to take.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to take proper action in response to her complaint about frequent flooding incidents which happen on the carriageway outside her property. Miss X said when the carriageway is flooded, it is difficult for her to leave her house and it is a risk to road users. She also said it has caused damage to her property. Miss X said she has reported the matter to the Council many times and it has delayed investigating the matter further. She wants the Council to take the appropriate action to resolve the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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

4. I spoke with Miss X and considered the information she provided.
5. I considered the information provided by the Council.
6. I considered our ‘Guidance on remedies’.
7. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision. I considered their comments before making the final decision.

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What I found

The Highways Act 1980

8. The duty to maintain highways includes maintenance of features of a highway relating to flood risk. Highway Authorities have powers under the Highways Act 1980 to lay new drains, erect barriers, cleanse existing drains or fill in ditches in order to drain roads or prevent surface water flowing onto roads.
9. Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 imposes a duty on the Council to maintain highways at public expense. This includes any drainage which is part of that highway.

What happened

10. Miss X said in 2014, the Council resurfaced the carriageway outside her property. She said the Council removed too much surface of the carriageway and did not put enough material back which caused it to be uneven. She also said the Council placed too much tarmac around the gullies on the carriageway. Miss X said this has caused the carriageway to flood when it rains because the water can no longer reach the gullies and instead, a large pool of water forms.
11. Miss X said when the carriageway floods, the water enters her driveway and she cannot move her car. She said the water rises to her knee and she has to wear wellington boots to walk through it. She said the water has caused damage to her garden wall over the years. Miss X said during the colder months, the water freezes over the carriageway which causes a risk to all road users. Miss X said she has regularly raised her concerns with the Council since the issue started and the Council has not taken enough action to resolve it.
12. In October 2020, Miss X complained to the Council. Later that month, the Council responded to Miss X and explained that the last incident of serious flooding on the carriageway was the result of continuous heavy rainfall. It said the flooding did disperse within 12 hours. It said this indicated the drainage system became overwhelmed. The Council said in July 2020, it attended the area and jetted five gullies and cleared out a manhole. The Council said no serious incidents of flooding should be repeated. The Council continued and informed Miss X it would carry out a CCTV survey on the drainage system to identify any other issues. It said it would aim to do this within 28 days but this was subject to change depending on other work which may need to take a higher priority.
13. Between December 2020 and January 2021, Miss X contacted the Council on several occasions raising her concerns about the ongoing flooding issues on the carriageway. In January 2021, the Council responded to Miss X. It said although it had planned to conduct a CCTV survey on the drainage system within 28 days of its complaint response, it had been unable to do so due to a huge demand of other drainage work across the region. The Council said it must prioritise locations according to the level of risk to road users or where flood water has entered properties. The Council continued and said the recent poor weather had worsened the issue of flooding across the region and it was unable to inform Miss X when it would be able to conduct the CCTV survey.
14. In May 2021, Miss X reported another incident of flooding on the carriageway. She asked the Council to investigate her complaint further. The Council responded to Miss X later that month. It said although Miss X had reported issues of flooding over a number of years, the level of risk at the location remained low in comparison to other areas of the region where there has been severe flooding. The Council said it understood Miss X’s frustration, acknowledged it had planned to conduct an investigation of the drainage system however, it did not consider the flooding a danger to road users or to nearby properties. The Council said again, it could not give Miss X an estimation of when it could investigate the matter. The Council also informed Miss X she could submit a claim with the Council if her garden wall had been damaged by the flooding.
15. Miss X remained unhappy and complained to us.
16. In October 2021, we asked the Council if it had carried out any investigative work on the carriageway Miss X complains of. The Council said it had not yet conducted a CCTV survey. However, in June 2021 the Council said an Officer had started an investigation on the drainage issue but had not been able to complete its investigation due to the Officer being on unexpected leave.

Findings

17. In October 2020, the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint and said it would complete an investigation on the drainage system to determine the reason behind the frequent flooding on the carriageway. However, more than a year later, the Council has still not completed an investigation, despite starting one in June 2021. This has been a significant delay in investigating the matter Miss X complains of. The Council was at fault.
18. The Council’s significant delay with completing the investigation has caused Miss X uncertainty, frustration and time and trouble.

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Agreed actions

19. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and pay her £100 for the frustration, time and trouble the matter has caused her.
20. Within two months of the final decision, the Council has agreed it will complete its investigation and inform Miss X of the outcome and the action it proposes to take. The Council will also inform us of the outcome and the action it proposes to take.

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Final decision

21. I have now completed my investigation. There was evidence of fault causing an injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman