Summary: The Council attempted to help resolve Mr K’s problems with his neighbour’s trees. However, it is not wrong to refuse to take action now that it has reconsidered the situation. There is no basis for me to recommend that it takes action.

The complaint

1. Mr K complains that the Council failed to take action to deal with problems he is having with his neighbour’s trees, despite its promise that it would deal with this. Mr K has to deal with lots of fallen debris. This is extremely painful and difficult for him due to his disability and has caused him injury.

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What I have investigated

2. I have investigated the Council’s actions since November 2021 when it told Mr K that it would investigate the matter and take appropriate action.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by Mr K and discussed the issues with him. I considered the information provided by the Council including its file documents. I also considered the law and guidance set out below. Both parties had the opportunity to comment on a draft of this statement. I have considered the comments of both parties before issuing my final decision.

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What I found

The law and guidance

6. The Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 allows councils to deal with complaints about high hedges having an adverse effect on a person’s use of their home or garden. A high hedge is a line of two or more evergreen or semi evergreen trees or shrubs, that are blocking light or access.
7. The law and guidance expects a person to attempt to resolve the issue the neighbour first. If this does not work, the person can complain a council. It will decide whether it should act. A council can reject the complaint if it considers the person has not made enough effort to resolve the problem, or if it thinks that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious.
8. A council can inspect the trees, and if it decides that the trees or shrubs are adversely affecting the person’s enjoyment of their home, a council can order the owner to take action to solve the issue, such as lowering the height of the tree. A council can charge a fee for this service.
9. A council also has the power to act where a tree is imminently dangerous. These powers are discretionary.

What happened

10. Mr K has had problems with overgrown trees in his neighbour’s garden. The neighbour lives next door but one to Mr K. He says the trees drop debris into his garden. He has difficulty clearing this away, it has caused him pain and a serious eye injury, and damaged an ornamental pond. He says the problem is so bad that he had to install netting to catch the debris.
11. Mr K complained to the Council some time ago. The Council told him that he must try to resolve the matter with his neighbour and that he could cut down overhanging branches and offer them back to his neighbour. However, the Council said there is no action it could take. Mr K complained to the Ombudsman. We considered his complaint but in August 2021, we decided that there was no fault in the Council’s approach.
12. However, the problems persisted and in late 2021 a Council officer told Mr K that the Council had not dealt with his issues correctly and that he would arrange for the trees to be inspected by the Council’s planning and arboriculture teams and for action to be taken to resolve the situation.
13. The Council’s officer confirmed this in February 2022. He told Mr K that there would normally be a charge for the Council to intervene in a dispute about trees, but as it had not responded properly or in good time to his requests for help, the Council would cover the charges.
14. However, the Council’s Arboriculture and Horticultural Teams decided that the Council could not get involved as this was a privately owned tree and it was for the neighbours to resolve themselves. It said that if Mr K wanted the Council to intervene under the Antisocial Behaviour Act, he would need to pay a fee. Essentially, the Council’s position remained unchanged from previous years.
15. Mr K complained to the Ombudsman. He considered he was entitled to rely on the Council’s promises made earlier that year.
16. I can understand that the Council raised Mr K’s expectations when it wrongly advised him that it could help him and that it would bear the cost of this. I recognise that in trying to help resolve the situation, the Council gave wrong advice. This has left Mr K disappointed and frustrated. The Council may be able to intervene under the High Hedges legislation, but Mr K would need to make a formal complaint to the Council about this and pay a fee for this service. To date, Mr K has not agreed to pay the fee.
17. The Council has considered Mr K’s aerial photograph showing the tree in relation to his property and decided it has no powers to intervene with a private tree that is not imminently dangerous. This means that I cannot recommend that it takes any formal action on that basis.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation. There was no fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman