Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council cutting back vegetation adjacent to Mr X’s home causing loss of privacy. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council cutting back shrubs alongside his boundary in 2022. He says he was not consulted about the work and it leaves his privacy affected.

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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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council cut back shrubs alongside the boundary of his home in 2022. The shrubs offered a certain amount of privacy to his garden from a path next to it and he says this has been lost. He complained to the Council and it told him that the shrubbery was cut back following complaints about of overgrown vegetation in the area and a need to reduce maintenance work for its reduced workforce resources.
6. The Council provided details of Land Registry plans which confirm that the plants were on Council land used by the public. It does not normally consult with public when carrying out maintenance work unless rights of way are affected by the need to close them for the works.
7. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions. In this case the Council was acting within its powers to cut back vegetation on its own land.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council cutting back vegetation adjacent to Mr X’s home causing loss of privacy. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman