Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a tree because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council will not prune a tree outside her home until 2022. Mrs X says the tree is very large and will soon be encroaching into her house.

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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 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 an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and looked at photographs of the tree. I considered the Council’s responses and its tree policy. I considered comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. There is a tree outside Mrs X’s home. The Council pruned it in 2017 although Mrs X says it was not done properly. In 2020 Mrs X asked the Council to prune the tree again.
5. A Council’s tree officer inspected the tree in May 2020. The officer found the tree to be healthy and vibrant and decided no work was needed. The officer found the tree was not obstructing the highway and was not touching any property. The Council told Mrs X it would not do any work.
6. Mrs X complained. She repeated her request for the tree to be pruned because there is a danger it will damage her house or injure someone. She said the tree will be half-way into her house if the tree is not pruned until 2022.
7. The Council repeated that the tree officer had inspected the tree and found that it does not need any work. It explained that unnecessary pruning can encourage growth. It said the tree is on a four year inspection programme although additional ad-hoc inspections are also carried out. It explained the tree had either been inspected, or had work done, in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. The Council repeated that the tree is next due to be inspected in 2022 although Mrs X can ask for an inspection before then if there is a specific issue. It said that as the tree is healthy it is unlikely there were any problems with the pruning completed in 2017.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The tree is regularly inspected and work is done when the tree officers decide it is needed. Tree officers inspected the tree this year and decided it does not need to be pruned. It is not fault for the Council to follow the professional advice of its tree officers and tell Mrs X that the tree will not be pruned at the moment. It is not my role to act as an appeal body or to arrange a further inspection to check the findings of the Council’s tree officers.
9. I appreciate Mrs X is worried about the size of the tree but it is reasonable to expect that tree officers will have the knowledge to asses whether the size of a tree presents a danger. The Council responded appropriately to the complaint by explaining the inspection programme, signposting Mrs X to its tree policy and by inviting her to ask for another inspection if she has any specific concerns before 2022.
10. Mrs X wants to know if the Council completed a risk assessment. She also asks if the decision not to prune the tree until 2022 meets the standards of the regulatory body for tree surgeons. These are questions Mrs X can put to the Council but they are not issues I need to pursue because I have decided not to start an investigation.

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Final decision

11. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman