Durham County Council (18 016 701)

Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 10 May 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing to remove garden waste bins that are no longer used by the complainant’s neighbours. This is because the complainant has not suffered a significant personal injustice as a result of the Council not removing the bins, and it has taken appropriate action to address the errors in the way it responded to the complainant’s concerns.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Miss B, is unhappy the Council has refused to remove garden waste bins which her neighbours no longer use, and which are stored at the front of their properties. She says the bins detrimentally affect the appearance of her road, and it would be better for the environment if the redundant bins were reused by other residents in the Council’s area.
  2. Miss B also says there were repeated errors in the Council’s responses to her concerns, as well as poor conduct by staff, which have had a detrimental impact on her wellbeing. In summary, Miss B says:
    • The Council closed two complaints without properly considering them or informing her of the outcome, and failed to call-back her back when promised;
    • The Council supplied her with an incorrect email address to escalate her complaint;
    • The Council refused to provide information which is already available on the Council’s website;
    • The Council gave incorrect information about who owns and has paid for the bins, and its powers to remove them;
    • When an officer arranged to visit her property, he failed to inform her he would be bringing an additional colleague.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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 the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
  • believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
  • are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6) & 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered:
    • Miss B’s complaint to the Ombudsman;
    • The Council’s responses to Miss B’s complaint;
    • Miss B’s photographs of the bins; and,
    • Miss B comments on a draft version of this statement.

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What I found

  1. The three properties opposite Miss B store their waste bins at the front of their properties. Miss B thinks the Council should retrieve the garden waste bins that these neighbours no longer use.
  2. Miss B contacted the Council, but says she experienced the problems detailed in paragraph 2 above.
  3. In responding to the subsequent complaint, the Council accepted that not all the information given had been accurate or dealt with in an appropriate and timely manner. In particular, the Council:
    • Apologised for providing incorrect information about who owned and paid for the bins, and said the officer concerned had been spoken to;
    • Apologised for closing Miss B’s enquiries without informing her, and for any confusion this may have caused;
    • Apologised for failing to call Miss B back when promised;
    • Said additional training and advice will be given to members of the team;
    • Confirmed a Neighbourhood Warden, and members of the Waste Team, had visited the area and established there was no misuse of the bins. It said there was no obligation to remove these bins where there is no identifiable misuse.
  4. The Council’s Information Officer has also apologised for Miss B being wrongly told the Council could not provide her with information about whether her neighbours subscribed to the garden waste collection service.

Assessment

  1. I appreciate Miss B thinks the bins make her road look unsightly, and says her view was confirmed when an estate agent moved them to take photographs of one of the neighbour’s properties.
  2. But, having considered Miss B’s photographs, I am not persuaded the personal injustice to Miss B (as a result of being able to see the additional garden waste bins across the road) is so significant as to warrant the Ombudsman starting an investigation into the Council’s decision not to remove the bins.
  3. Furthermore, I note the Council has apologised for the way Miss B’s enquiries were responded to, and has said staff will receive training and advice. Considering my view on the injustice arising from the positioning of the bins, and that complainants should expect to incur some time and trouble if they choose to pursue a complaint, overall, I find these actions are a satisfactory way to address this part of the complaint.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss B’s complaint. This is because I do not consider she has suffered a significant injustice as a result of the Council’s decision not to remove the garden waste bins, and the Council has taken satisfactory action to address the errors in the handling of her complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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