Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s failure to cut the top of the hedge at the rear of his property. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because the work has now been completed and there are no outstanding matters which warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, complains the Council failed to respond to his requests that it cut the top of the hedge at the rear of his property which he first made in July 2018. It then failed to respond to his complaints about its lack of action.

Back to top

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

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I spoke to Mr B and reviewed the information he and the Council provided.

Back to top

What I found

4. In July 2018 Council contractors cut the sides of the hedge over the wall at the rear of Mr B’s property but it did not cut the top of it. Mr B telephoned the Council to complain about this a number of times over the summer and emailed a complaint at the beginning of the year which the Council acknowledged in February 2019. However, despite further calls and emails by Mr B, the Council did not respond.
5. In responding to our initial enquiries about this matter, the Council acknowledged it had been at fault. It has apologised to Mr B and completed the outstanding works to the hedge. It has also confirmed it will be vigilant to ensure such a problem does not reoccur in the future.

Back to top

Assessment

6. The Council was at fault in failing to ensure Mr B’s service request and complaints about the uncut hedge height were responded to. It has now acknowledged its fault and taken appropriate action to address this.
7. The action now taken by the Council satisfactorily resolves the complaint and, as there are no outstanding issues which warrant a formal investigation by the Ombudsman, the complaint will not be considered further.

Back to top

Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because the work to cut the hedge top has now been completed and there are no outstanding matters which warrant investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman