Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s refuse collections and related noise nuisance. This is because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s response, and it would be reasonable to expect Mr B to seek a remedy in the magistrates’ court.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council’s refuse collections near his home sometimes start before 7am. He says the noise disturbs his sleep and this has affected his quality of life. He wants the Council to admit fault, provide financial redress for the inconvenience, and stop the noise nuisance.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In its response, the Council said it tries to restrict its waste collections to after 7am but could not always guarantee this. It said it felt early morning collections were reasonable because there is less traffic at this time. It said this helped to prevent congestion on roads and was safer for operatives collecting the bins. It said it had discussed the matter with the service manager who acknowledged it should not start collections before 7am. It explained the reasons why it had happened on this occasion and apologised to Mr B for any inconvenience caused.
6. In response to Mr B’s reports of noise nuisance from refuse collections, the Council said as it operated the service, it could not take formal action against itself on these matters. It said Mr B had the option to take private legal action if he considered the noise amounted to a statutory nuisance.
7. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has appropriately considered Mr B’s complaint and apologised to him for any inconvenience caused by the early collections. It has committed to ensuring collections do not start before 7am but explained why this sometimes may happen. It is unlikely we could add to this response or achieve a different outcome.
8. It is also correct that the Council cannot take formal action against itself to stop the noise Mr B complains about. A member of the public can take private action against an alleged nuisance in the magistrates’ court. If the court decides they are suffering a ‘statutory nuisance’, it can order the person or organisation responsible to take action to stop or limit it. It is therefore reasonable to expect Mr B to take his complaint to the magistrates’ court so we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s response, and it would be reasonable to expect Mr B to seek a remedy in the magistrates’ court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman