Summary: Mr X says that the Council failed to resolve a pigeon pest problem surrounding his premises. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as there is no evidence of fault in the way in which the Council has reached its decision.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that many pigeons congregate on his property and in the surrounding area.
2. Mr X has concerns that the pigeons are a potential health problem due to bird faeces on the pavements being trodden into his property and a neighbouring takeaway. Mr X also has concerns about the pigeons making noise on his roof causing a disturbance for his tenants.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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:

• it is unlikely we would find fault,
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he has provided. I have written to Mr X with my draft decision and considered his response.

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What I found

6. In June 2019, Mr X raised a formal complaint with the Council about the impact of pigeons on his property and to his tenants. This complaint followed on from previous concerns raised by Mr X with the council regarding the same issue.
7. I consider that the Council has taken reasonable action to address Mr X’s concerns about the pigeons in the surrounding area. This is because it has:
• arranged visits from Environmental Health Officers;
• contacted local businesses to promote repair of sites;
• installed “do not feed the bird” signs;
• provided additional signs to food outlets in the area;
• increased street cleaning; and
• increased enforcement officer presence to monitor littering.
8. The Council has taken reasonable steps to obtain advice from an external pest control business and looked at guidance provided by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs as part of its decision-making process.
9. This advice confirmed that decoy systems or trapping and culling would only present short-term solutions whilst netting or spikes would result in the pigeons moving to the next available roof.
10. The Council reached its decision not to pursue these options taking account of relevant factors and guidance., There is no evidence of fault in the decision-making process.

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Final decision

11. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision and it is unlikely that further investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman