Durham County Council (23 015 731)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 18-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about rainwater run-off from highways on council land. It is reasonable for the complainant to seek a remedy by way of an insurance claim and the courts if no liability is accepted by the Council.

Welland & Deepings I D B (23 013 453)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 08-Feb-2024

Summary: Ms X complains about water ingress into her property due to drainage issues which she says action by the Authority could have avoided. We will not investigate the complaint because it is a late complaint and because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Authority sufficient to warrant an investigation.

Kent County Council (23 013 059)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 03-Jan-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to take no further action to address flooding which affects Ms X’s property. This is because there is no evidence to suggest fault by the Council.

North Lincolnshire Council (23 007 484)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 21-Dec-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a failure to maintain a ditch near the complainant’s home to an acceptable standard. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision that responsibility for maintaining the ditch lays with the local Internal Drainage Board. Also, we do not consider Mr X has suffered a significant personal injustice.

High Peak Borough Council (23 006 019)

Statement Upheld Drainage 20-Dec-2023

Summary: We found fault on Mr F’s complaint about the Council giving incorrect and misleading advice about his neighbour’s responsibility for flooding. The Council failed to confirm the outcome of the initial visit, explain its role, confirm what it was going to do and why, correct a claim he made following it, confirm it had done other visits, and failed to tell him it was closing the case and why. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

Blackpool Borough Council (23 003 722)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 09-Nov-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to the flooding of the complainants’ property from a shared drainage system. This is because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

Chorley Borough Council (23 006 988)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 02-Oct-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s granting of planning permission for a housing estate built in 2015 from which Mr X says rainwater drainage floods his property. This is because the Council’s consideration of the planning application for the development falls outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and because road drainage issues are for the County Council’s Highways Department to consider.

Cornwall Council (23 007 451)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 24-Sep-2023

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not doing works to a highway drain system discharging water on to his property, and officers not responding or delaying replies to his correspondence. The core drainage issue is one of legal liability for the highway water and its impacts on Mr X’s property which is a matter only a court or insurer can determine. We do not investigate councils’ complaint responses or correspondence where we are not investigating the core issue giving rise to the complaint.

London Borough of Sutton (23 001 017)

Statement Upheld Drainage 03-Sep-2023

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed taking action following reports of blocked gullies in the road outside her property. Mrs X also complained about how the Council handled her complaint and says the Council’s actions caused her avoidable frustration. We found fault by the Council who agreed to provide a remedy to address the injustice identified.

Arun District Council (23 003 855)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Drainage 03-Aug-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions on a development next to where the complainant lives. We do not consider further investigation would lead to a different result. Nor can we achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.