South Kesteven District Council (25 006 509)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Aug 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not clearing asbestos from his land. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve a worthwhile outcome if we were to investigate.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council has not helped him with clearing suspected asbestos from his land and the surrounding area following a fire in 2022.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X said there was a fire in 2022 on neighbouring land, which is owned by the Council and leased to another company. He says that following the fire, asbestos ended up on his property and the surrounding area.
- The Council and the company leasing the land have both disputed responsibility for the asbestos. The Council has told Mr X the fire was actually on a nearby private residential property and does not consider it is responsible for clearing the asbestos.
- We are unable to prove how the material ended up on Mr X’s property or determine who is responsible for what happened or liable for clearing it up. Three years have passed since the material appeared on Mr X’s property and it is therefore unlikely we could effectively investigate what happened or reach any meaningful conclusions on the issue. We could not therefore say the Council is responsible for removing the asbestos or that it must do so, as Mr X wants.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could achieve a worthwhile outcome if we were to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman