Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about tree pruning because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the issue has been resolved.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has not pruned a tree outside his home. He wants the tree removed or pruned.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• the problem has been resolved.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and information about when the tree will be pruned. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. There is a tree outside Mr X’s home. A qualified tree officer inspected the tree last year and recommended an urban prune. This involves lifting the crown, removing dead wood, clearing and pruning back from the property.
5. Mr X complained during the summer because the work had not been done. In July the Council explained it was working through the tree jobs by ward and aimed to work in his road by December.
6. Mr X complained to us in 2023 because the tree has not been pruned.
7. The Council told me the work was due to be completed last week. It explained it had to obtain a permit to work on the highway and liaise with bus companies as the tree is near a bus stop. It also had to buy temporary bus stop signs.
8. I have not received any further information to suggest the tree was not pruned last week.
9. The Council recommended pruning last year as part of the cyclical inspection regime. It has taken some time for the work to be completed but this does not amount to fault requiring an investigation. The work was booked for next week so the problem has been resolved. Mr X may have hoped for removal rather than pruning but a tree officer assessed the tree and decided what work is needed; it is not fault for the Council to follow the recommendations of a tree officer. And, we could not ask the Council to do more than what was recommended by the tree officer.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the problem has been resolved.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman