Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the way the Council has dealt with his request for a protected tree to be pruned. Further investigation of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council or achieve the outcome Mr B wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr B, is concerned about large overhanging branches on a protected tree next to his property. Mr B applied to the Council for permission to carry out work to the tree. The Council approved Mr B’s application but has now told him he must pay for the work as the tree does not belong to the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the information Mr B provided when he made his complaint. I sent a draft decision to Mr B and considered the comments and documents he provided in reply before I made my final decision.

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What I found

5. Mr B says the Council has carried out maintenance to the tree in the past, has maintained the land the tree is on and had given no previous indication it did not own the tree.
6. The Council’s response to Mr B’s complaint says the tree is not on its adopted land. The Council has provided Mr B with the contact details of the developer it says owns the land the tree is on. The Council says it will not carry out the work to the tree because the tree is privately owned by a third party.
7. Mr B has made enquiries with the Land Registry and the organisation he believes retains ownership of the land, to try and identify who has responsibility for carrying out works to the tree. The Council has refused to take the tree into its ownership and remains of the view no works to the tree are required for safety reasons. Mr B is concerned there are branches close to his house and says his wife does not want to sleep upstairs in bad weather because of concerns about the safety of the tree.
8. While Mr B is unhappy with the Council’s response, the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Council has approved Mr B’s request to carry out work but as it does not consider it owns the tree, it will not pay for the work itself. Further investigation of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council or achieve any more for Mr B because we cannot resolve the question of who owns the tree

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council or achieve the outcome Mr B wants.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman