Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to programme regular clearance of leaf fall. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, complains about trees on Council owned land opposite his home which shed their leaves onto his property.
2. Mr X has mobility issues, and says the mulched leaves are a safety hazard.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 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

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council has cleared the leaves when Mr X reported the issues, albeit after a delay. It says it will not programme in regular clearance but will continue to attend to remove when Mr X reports a problem as it has done in the past.
7. The Ombudsman cannot dictate how the Council uses its resources. It has confirmed it will clear the leaves when advised of a problem. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman