Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to prune some trees. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council will not prune some dangerous trees near her home. She says the trees are very high and would damage her home if they fell.

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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 the Council’s responses. I considered photographs of the trees and comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Tree policy

4. The Council does work to trees that are dead, dying, structurally unsound, obstructing the highway or damaging property.

What happened

5. Mrs X asked the Council to prune some trees. She said the trees are about 34 foot high and not maintained. Mrs X said the trees are dangerous.
6. A tree officer inspected the trees. He found the trees are healthy and there is no health and safety risk. The Council explained its tree policy to Mrs X and said it would not do any pruning because the trees are not dangerous.
7. Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s response and disagrees with the findings of the tree officer. She maintains the trees are dangerous and could damage her home if they fell. She says the trees will continue to grow and wants to know at what height a tree must be considered dangerous.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by arranging for a tree officer to inspect the trees. His findings were that the trees are in a good condition and do not pose a health and safety risk. The Council decided not to prune the trees because they are not dead, diseased or posing a risk. The Council’s decision is consistent with the tree policy and it is not fault for a council to follow the professional opinion of qualified trees officers.
9. We are not qualified trees officers and could not say the findings of the tree officer are wrong. I also cannot answer Mrs X’s questions about the height at which a tree must be considered dangerous. However, I have seen an email from a senior Council tree officer in which he said that height does not make a tree dangerous unless there is a defect which makes the tree unstable. In this case the Council found no defects so the tree is not dangerous. Mrs X is correct to say the trees will continue to grow but she can ask for periodic inspections to check if the trees are still healthy and defect free.
10. We do not act as an appeal body. We cannot intervene because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

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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