Summary: There is insufficient injustice caused to Mrs B after minor errors in her garden refuse collection to continue to investigate. The Council has apologised for a missed collection and letter sent about the wrong use of a permit. Mrs B’s complaints about mud at the side of the road have been responded to by the Council. The Council has explained its position and further investigation is not likely to change its view (the result Mrs B wants), so the investigation is discontinued.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mrs B, complains the Council has not swept/cleared the road to remove the strip of mud and grass at the side of the road next to her wall. Mrs B worries about potential damage to her wall.
2. Mrs B also complains the Council has not refunded the money paid for a garden waste permit as the Council has made collections and the Council has not provided a replacement bin lid to fix the permit to by its advertised timescale.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), 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 the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, and 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 read the papers put in by Mrs B and discussed the complaint with her.
6. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
7. Mr B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Complaint about road sweeping

8. Mrs B lives on a corner property, the side wall of which meets a small side road. There is a small tarmacked channel between the road surface and the wall of her house/garden.
9. Mrs B sent me a photograph that shows a strip of dirt and grass against her wall. I can also see from the street view photograph of 2009/2010 sent to me by the Council before that this was previously a shallow channel that was clear.
10. The Council has explained that any blocked drains are the responsibility of the County Council. The Council is not responsible for lifting the metal drainage grids, so Mrs B needs to make a complaint about the County Council if she considers it is not clearing mud from under the drainage grids.
11. The Council has said it sweeps the road every 12 weeks but has no records or evidence to prove this. Mrs B says she has not seen a road sweeper.
12. The Council accepts there is debris at the side of Mrs B’s property. It says the road sweeper does not clear this as it may damage Mrs B’s wall. The Council has said that it considers that removal of the mud in the channel is the responsibility of Mrs B, as the adjacent landowner. Mrs B says she thinks the Council should clear the mud on the road.
13. In the summer of 2020, after Mrs B complained to the Ombudsman, the Parish Council organised for road to be cleared of mud. Mrs B is now able to report any blockages under the drainage grids to the County Council.
14. Highway law requires the Council to repair damaged roads and to remove mud/debris if it is a danger to road users. Neither is the case here. So, I am not convinced the Council is legally obliged to remove the build up of debris. If Mrs B considers the mud is damaging her wall then she can take legal action or make an insurance claim against the Council for any damage to her property.
15. A leaflet provided by the County Council suggests that Mrs B has an obligation to remove the debris (or employ a contractor to do so) as an adjacent landowner. Mrs B may wish to get her own legal advice on this point. The Ombudsman cannot decide points of law so I cannot make a judgement on this point.
16. The Council has swept the road regularly and referred complaints about the blocked drains to the County Council. It has considered Mrs B’s complaint about the build up of mud and grass but does not intend to take further action. I appreciate Mrs B disagrees with the Council’s view but I cannot see that the mud is a danger to general road users.
17. If Mrs B considers there is damage to her wall she can make an insurance claim to the Council or employ a contractor to clear the mud, as she may have an obligation to do as the adjacent landowner. For these reasons, I do not intend to investigate further. The Council has ensured the highway is swept and clear for users. It is not unusual in a rural area for there to be mud at the side of a road and I cannot see any further merit in further investigation. This is especially the case now the mud has been cleared.

Complaint about garden bin permit

18. Mrs B told the Council on 10 April 2018 the lid to her green waste bin had gone missing after the collection that day. The Council said that it could take up to 21 days for a repair. Mrs B asked the Council to call her the day before the repair as she could not leave the bin out for that long.
19. The Council has said that Mrs B was still able to put her bin out without a lid and the Council would empty it.
20. Mrs B called the Council again on 4 June 2018 to complain about the time it was taking. The Council said a request was sent to find out when the bin would be fixed.
21. Mrs B wrote to the Council on 5 July 2018 to complain she had waited eight weeks for the lid.
22. On 12 July 2018 Mrs B bought a garden waste permit for the next 12 months.
23. On 22 February 2019 Mrs B phoned the Council to say it had not collected her garden waste that day. Mrs B told the Council the lid with the permit on was lost in the last collection and the adviser requested a new permit for her. The Council said it has no record it returned to collect the garden waste. The Council sent the new permit on 26 February 2019.
24. The Council wrote to Mrs B on 22 February 2018, at her address and the address of another house she owns. The letter said the Council had evidence her garden permit for one house had been copied and placed on the bin at her other house. It said ‘I am sure you are aware this is fraud and a warden will be monitoring the situation’.
25. Mrs B told the Council she was unhappy she had received a letter accusing her of fraudulent use of her garden waste permit. The Council logged this as a stage one complaint.
26. The Council did not collect Mrs B’s garden waste on 22 March 2019 as no permit was on the bin. The Council says it collected her bin on 28 March. Mrs B says there was no collection on 28 March. There is no evidence either way to find out what happened.
27. The Council replied to Mrs B’s stage one complaint on 10 April. The Council sincerely apologised for its letter of 22 February and said there was nothing in the Council’s terms and conditions which suggests she could not photocopy the green bin permit. It said Mrs B had not committed fraud.
28. Mrs B then asked for a refund for the garden waste service and the Council considered it as a stage 2 complaint.
29. The Council has said that as its records have only noted one missed collection and one late collection it does not intend to refund the charge. The Council said it told the collection crew they could collect from Mrs B’s property without the new permit/bin lid. The Council sent Mrs B a final response to her complaint on 28 June 2019.
30. Mrs B complained to the Ombudsman that she wanted a refund on her green waste permit. From the information I have, there was only one or two missed collections and so I cannot see why the Council would refund the charge for the rest of the years collection.
31. I appreciate Mrs B was upset by the letter the Council sent, but the Council has apologised for this and I do not consider this to be a significant injustice that warrants further investigation now an apology has been made. Again, the fact that Mrs B had to wait more than the 21 days for a bin lid was inconvenient but did not stop her using the service and so I do not consider it to be a significant injustice that the Ombudsman would recommend any further remedy for than the apology already given. For these reasons, I do not intend to investigate further.

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Final decision

32. I have discontinued the investigation of this complaint and do not uphold Mrs B's complaint. The injustice caused to Mrs B is not so great the Ombudsman would be likely to recommend a remedy, other than the apology already given.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman