Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with a report of fly-tipped waste. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council has failed to properly deal with her report of fly-tipped waste outside her property. Miss X says the Council’s decision not to remove all the waste could cause damage to her fence panels.

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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 how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
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 Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X reported that waste including soil and rubble had been left on Council land outside her property. The Council inspected the area and concluded that some of the waste was fly-tipped and other items were not and they did not post a hazard to the environment.
7. Miss X complained about this decision and said that she believed that there was asbestos amongst the items left. The Council carried out further inspections and concluded that there was no evidence of asbestos and that there were no grounds to remove any of the other items Miss X complained about. The Council did agree to rake over the soil in order to level the ground.
8. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.
9. In this case the Council carried out several visits to the site from trained Council officers who reached the same conclusion that the items did not constitute fly-tipping and did not pose a risk to the environment or the public. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council reached this conclusion and whilst Miss X may strongly disagree with it, that does not mean the Council has done anything wrong. We will therefore not investigate this complaint.
10. Miss X believes that the Council may be liable for potential damage to her fence. However, it would be reasonable for Miss X to pursue the issue of compensation for damage to her property with the Council’s insurers, and then at court if required, because we cannot make findings on legal liability claims of property damage. 

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman