Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about bush cutting by the Council in Ms X’s road. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains the Council is not trimming bushes in front of her property and other properties close to her the same size as other bushes in the road. She says this is a health and safety issue due to a lack of space for wheelchair and pushchair users and it makes the area look untidy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council, including its response to the complaint.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X complained to the Council that it had not sufficiently trimmed bushes in front of her property and other properties opposite her.
7. Council officers visited the site and told Ms X there is adequate space for people to pass and that no additional cutting to the bushes would take place.
8. While Ms X may remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response to her complaint, it is for the Council to decide the level of trimming required by the different kinds of bushes in her road. It is not our role to act as a point of appeal and we cannot question decisions taken by councils if they have followed the right steps and considered the relevant information.
9. Ms X says the Council used the wrong house number in its communication about the bushes. However, officers visited the site and would have seen the bushes in question.
10. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and in this case there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms X to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman