Summary: Mr X complains the Council’s actions to address the litter on his street are not enough. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the Council has agreed to my recommendations to take appropriate and proportionate action to remedy the injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains:
• the Council has failed to deal with fly-tipping on two pieces of land on his street;
• about the general amount litter on the street which blows onto his property;
• the public bins on his street are not large enough for their use;
• the pavements near his property are overgrown in weeds;
• the business’ opposite his house are illegally renting out rooms.

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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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I have written to Mr X with my draft decision and given him an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

General litter

4. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (The 1990 Act) imposes duties on the Council to keep public highways clean, as far as is practicable. The Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse, DEFRA 2006, provides a practical guide to enable a Council to carry out these duties.
5. The photographic evidence provided by Mr X suggests the street falls under a Grade C (and occasional Grade D) category for cleanliness. This area would appear to fall under a medium intensity use.
6. Under the 1990 Act the Council should restore the street to a Grade A by 6pm the evening following it falling below Grade B.
7. The Council sends litter pickers round three times per week and empties public bins at the same intervals.
8. This schedule of clearing litter is consistent with the requirements on the Council. Further investigation of this matter is unlikely to reach a finding of fault.

Public Bins

9. In line with the Litter Act 1983, the local authority should empty and sufficiently clean public bins frequently to ensure that no bin or its contents become a nuisance or give reasonable grounds for complaint.
10. Mr X complains that people leave black bin bags next to the public bins and these bins are regularly overflowing.
11. The Council says that people should not use public bins for household waste.
12. The Council has provided no evidence that it has considered any reasonably practicable steps to resolve the issue of overflowing bins. This has given Mr X reasonable grounds for complaint.
13. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to carry out a period of monitoring of the waste dumped in Mr X’s area to identify the root of the problem. This will consider the overflowing bins and household waste.
14. The Council will then develop and carry out a plan to address the problem.

Fly Tipping

15. The Council has powers under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to issue Community Protection Notices (CPN) against a landowner if a nuisance is:
• having a negative effect on the quality of life of residents;
• persistent or continuing in nature; and
• unreasonable.
16. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 says a Council should refer a health concern of fly-tipping on private land to the Environmental Agency.
17. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 also says a Council should assess any incident of fly-tipping on public land and remove the waste. The Council can then investigate the matter.
18. Mr X complains about fly-tipping on two pieces of private land near his property.
19. One site does not present itself as an immediate Council concern as this is solely related to private land.
20. But, the Council should monitor this first site as part of the monitoring of the public bins and decide if any action is required to address the root problem.
21. The second site shows discarded bags, mattresses and a fridge. This presents itself as a health concern.
22. The Council has agreed to my recommendation to refer this to the Environmental Agency.
23. The fly-tipping on the second site is now spilling out onto the pavement. This is now impacting on a relevant highway and is the Council’s responsibility.
24. The Council has agreed to my recommendation to assess the incident and remove the fly-tipping from the relevant highway. The Council should also begin an investigation into the fly-tipping by carrying out a period of monitoring.

Overgrowth on Pavements

25. The Council completes weed treatment according to its weed treatment programme. One treatment every quarter for spring, summer and autumn.
26. The photographs provided by Mr X shows re-growth which is unlikely to be consistent with an Autumn treatment.
27. However, we are now approaching the Spring treatment schedule. Bringing forward the treatment would serve little purpose as the weed killer used by the Council is weather dependent and acts slowly in cold weather.
28. The Council will carry out the spring cycle as scheduled. The Council has agreed to my recommendation to review Mr X’s road and the surrounding roads one month after the treatment schedule and decide the effectiveness of the treatment and suitability for a second treatment.

Illegal Renting

29. The Council is responsible for illegal renting of Council properties but not private properties.
30. Concerns about private letting is an issue between the landlord and their tenants, the landlord’s mortgage provider or HMRC dependent on the circumstances.
31. The Ombudsman cannot pursue this complaint because it relates to a matter for which the Council has no responsibility.

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Agreed action

32. The Council will carry out a period of monitoring of the waste dumped in Mr X’s area, in relation to both the public bins and the fly-tipping, to identify the root of the problem. The Council should then develop and implement a plan to address the problem.
33. This monitoring should begin within one month of the final decision and continue for a period of three months. The Council should then provide the Ombudsman with details of its findings and plan to address the problem within one month of the monitoring concluding.
34. Remove the fly-tipping from the relevant highway.
35. Refer the site detailed to the Environmental Agency.
36. The Council will carry out the weed treatment on Mr X’s road and the surrounding roads according to the spring cycle. It will then review the treatment one month later and determine the suitability of further treatment.

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Final decision

37. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has agreed to my recommendations to take appropriate and proportionate action to remedy the injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman