Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council responded to Mr X’s report of nuisance from a light. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the way the Council responded to his report of nuisance from a light above his neighbour’s front door.

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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 an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I looked at photographs provided by Mr X and the Council. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Statutory nuisance

4. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), councils have a duty to take reasonable steps to investigate potential ‘statutory nuisances’. A statutory nuisance can be caused by light. A statutory nuisance must unreasonably interfere with the use or enjoyment of someone’s home or be something likely to injure health. There is no fixed point at which something becomes a statutory nuisance. Councils will rely on qualified officers to gather evidence. A council can only take formal action if it decides there is a statutory nuisance. The council must be satisfied that the magistrates’ court would agree there is a statutory nuisance.
5. A private individual can take legal action if they think someone is causing a statutory nuisance.

What happened

6. Mr X contacted the Council to report that a light above his neighbour’s front door was disturbing him. He said the light was stopping him from sleeping properly. In response the Council visited during the day and at night. The Council found that the light is a standard household bulb of 100w or less. During the evening visit the Council assessed the light from inside Mr X’s bedroom.
7. The Council decided the light does not constitute a statutory nuisance. The Council explained it would be hard to convince magistrates there is a statutory nuisance. The Council suggested mediation or said Mr X could take his own legal action against the neighbour.
8. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision. He says there are no streetlights so the area should be dark. He says the bulb lights up his house and garden and keeps him awake. He did a Freedom of Information request and found the Council has only found a statutory nuisance twice in the last ten years.

Assessment

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I appreciate Mr X believes there is a statutory nuisance and disagrees with the Council’s response. But, that disagreement does not mean there has been fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by visiting the site and assessing the impact of the light, in the dark, from inside Mr X’s home. Having done that, the officers were entitled to use their professional judgement to decide there is no statutory nuisance. In addition, the Council acted appropriately by explaining the rules to Mr X, suggesting he try mediation with his neighbour, and saying he could take his own legal action. There is nothing more I would have expected the Council to do and it is not my role to question the professional judgement of officers in relation to the light.
10. Mr X says the Council has found two incidences of statutory nuisance in the last ten years. I do not have any information about this so I cannot comment. But, the Council assesses each report individually to see if there is a statutory nuisance and what has happened in the past has no bearing on how it responded to Mr X’s report.

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Final decision

11. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman