Summary: We will not investigate X’s complaint about the Council not taking action regarding flooding on private land in their area. There is insufficient significant personal injustice caused to X by the matters complained of to warrant us investigating.

The complaint

1. X lives near privately-owned land which they say floods for about six months of each year. X complains the Council:
1. has failed to take action to clear a silted main drain;
2. failed to enforce against a developer who built over the drain;
3. has refused to do further visits to the site;
4. used inaccurate information to assess the matter;
5. refused to share the source of the information it had;
6. has failed to act to prevent further water flowing into flooded areas.
2. X says the blocked drain causes extensive flooding. They say the area floods up to 3 metres deep in two areas, is publicly accessible and adjoins residential homes, a primary school and a footpath. X considers the flooding a danger to life. They say the impact on them is fear and distress about that danger, worry that their property is at risk of flooding, and frustration at the Council’s approach and decisions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from X and the Council, relevant online maps, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. X considers the Council has missed various opportunities over several years to use its powers to require the land’s owner to do works reducing the flooding in the area. The Council has previously visited the site, considered the information it has received and gathered, and assessed the risks to people and property from the flood water. Officers have taken legal advice in response to X’s concerns and decided the situation and the risks involved do not justify them using Council resources or their discretionary enforcement powers regarding the flooding.
6. Even if there has been Council fault in its assessment of and responses to the matter, we will not investigate. X does not report their house or other property have flooded due to the situation complained of. We understand X is concerned this might happen in the future. We cannot consider an injustice which has not happened, and a worry that it might is not sufficient injustice for us to investigate. We note X is worried about the safety of other members of the public, including children. Any impact of the flooding on others would not be an injustice to X. X’s worries about what might happen to others is not a significant injustice which would justify us investigating. We realise X is frustrated that the Council will not take the actions they want it to regarding the flooding. But this impact, on its own or taken with the other impacts claimed, does not amount to sufficient significant personal injustice to X to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate X’s complaint because there is not enough significant personal injustice caused to them by the matters complained of to justify us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman