Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about a highway tree which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council planting a tree in a verge planter on the highway near her home. She has the use of a disabled parking bay and her relative believes the tree may cause inconvenience when she is being handled in and out of a car. She wants the Council to remove the tree.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X complained to the Council in April 2020 about a tree which it had planted on the footway edge close to the disabled bay which is in front of her home. She is concerned that the tree will restrict her relatives helping her to access their car and taxis which she uses to take her to facilities. Her relatives complained on her behalf and asked for the tree to be removed.
6. The Council replies at the time that it did not consider the tree to be a sufficient obstruction to the bay to warrant its removal. It says the site would have been assessed as suitable by the relevant officers and that it does not give prior notice to nearby residents when carrying out tree planting works.
7. Mrs X’s relatives raised the issue that there is another tree a few metres away and that the combination of both trees may give rise to subsidence. The Council told them it did not believe this to be the case and that the planting meets its standards for urban planting.
8. We do not normally investigate complaints where the complainant was aware of the subject matter of their complaint more than 12 months before they brought it to our attention. In this case the complaint was submitted to the Council in April 2020, and it gave a prompt response. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner once the Council made its position clear.

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Final decision

9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about a highway tree which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman