Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about grass cutting in his street as the personal injustice caused to Mr X from his complaint is not at a level that would warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council is not properly maintaining a grassed area near to his home.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and his comments in response to my draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X complains the Council is not properly maintaining grassed area and borders where he lives. Mr X complains the area looks totally uncared for.

Analysis

5. While I appreciate why Mr X complains, from our perspective, the personal injustice caused to Mr X is not significant enough to warrant our involvement.

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Final decision

6. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as the injustice caused to Mr X is not at a level that would warrant our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman