Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in connection with the removal of a tree. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council is at fault in its actions in connection with the removal of a tree.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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. A tree on the boundary between Mr B’s property and the highway needs to be removed. Mr B says that, when the Council wrongly believed the tree was mostly on his side of the boundary, it wanted him to bear the full cost of the works. Now it has been established that most of the tree is on the highway, it wants Mr B to pay a proportion of the cost, corresponding to the proportion of the tree on his property.
6. Mr B believes the Council’s position is unreasonable. He believes it is interpreting the situation to its own financial advantage. He wants it to bear the full cost of removal. In addition, Mr B complains that the Council’s officer was rude to members of his family during a site visit.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would be able to establish the Council was at fault. While the two positions appear inconsistent, that does not mean the Council’s final position amounts to fault. It is not for the Ombudsman to take a position on who should pay for the removal of the tree. If Mr B disagrees with the Council’s position it is open to him to refuse to pay. The onus would then be on the Council to decide whether to pursue the matter in court, where both parties can make their case.
8. The Ombudsman cannot make a finding on whether the officer was rude, as Mr B alleges. The Council’s response on this matter appears reasonable in the circumstances and there is nothing to be gained from our intervention.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman