Summary: Mr X complains the Council refuses to remove 2 trees growing on its land which drop leaves into his garden. The Ombudsman will not investigate as we have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to remove 2 trees on its land. He says the trees drop leaves into his garden which jam the mechanism of the outside lift for his disabled daughter. He also complains the leaves cause the path to become slippery. He wants the trees removed.

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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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the Council which includes his complaints and the Council’s responses.
4. Mr X commented on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. The Council installed an external lift and resin footpath to support his disabled daughter’s access to the property.
6. Mr X complains that 2 trees growing close to the house drop leaves. This causes the mechanism on the external lift the jam and makes the footpath slippery which makes it difficult and dangerous for his daughter who has fallen twice.
7. The Councils tree policy says it will not prune or remove a council owned tree to reduce autumn leaf fall.

“Autumn leaf fall is a natural event. The clearance of autumn leaves from gardens, gutters etc is regarded as being part of normal property maintenance and is the property owner or tenant’s responsibility.”

8. A Council officer visited the site. He decided no action is needed except to cut back a couple of branches encroaching on the streetlight. It has asked an occupational health officer to check the design of the lift or the layout of the path to see if there are any areas which needs addressing. The Council also says there are many other trees in the area so the problem will be present regardless of the trees in question.
9. The Ombudsman must consider whether there was fault in how the Council decided not to remove the trees, not whether this decision is right or wrong. Without fault in the decision-making process, we cannot question the decision itself.
10. I understand Mr X ‘s frustration with the mess in his garden caused by the dropped leaves. However, the Council has no duty to prune or remove the trees. It remains for the property owner or tenant to clear leaf fall on their property. The Council has inspected the trees and is acting according to its published tree policy.

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Final decision

11. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because I have not seen any evidence of fault in the way the Council considered his request to remove the trees. Without evidence of fault we cannot criticise the Council’s decision.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman