Canterbury City Council (21 000 410)

Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 08 Dec 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council are using refuse collection vehicles which exceed the weight limit on road on the complainants estate. This is because the Council has recently purchased new vehicles which comply with the weight limits and will be used on the estate. We are therefore satisfied with the actions the Council has taken.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council uses overweight vehicles to collect refuse from the estate that he lives on. Mr X says the vehicles could damage roads on the estate, and that he and other resident would have to pay for any repairs.

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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 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

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Mr X lives on an estate where the roads are unadopted and have a maximum weight limit of 13 ton. He complained to the Council that vehicles used to collect refuse from the estate exceed the roads weight limit and that this could cause damage to the road surface, and he and other residents would have to pay for any repairs.
  2. I will not investigate this complaint. Since Mr X raised his complaint, the Council has purchased 12-ton vehicles to use for refuse collections on Mr X’s estate. It has recently received the vehicles and they are now in service. I am therefore satisfied with the actions the Council has taken.

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Final decision

  1. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because I am satisfied with the action the Council has taken.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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