Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to prune trees near his property. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has refused to sufficiently prune trees near his property. He says the trees drop an unacceptable amount of leaves and blossom onto his property and the branches block out natural light. He wants the Council to prune the trees to reduce their size.

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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 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council’s policy sets out how it manages trees it is responsible for in its area. The policy says it will not remove or prune trees solely to alleviate problems such as falling leaves or blossom, blockage of natural light, or to reduce the size of trees considered to be too large or overgrown.
7. Mr X complained that trees near his property cause an unacceptable amount of leaf fall and blossom and blocked his natural light. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council visited his property to view the trees in question and consulted an arborist. It decided that, as the trees were healthy and not causing damage, it would not carry out further pruning of the trees.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. Although I accept Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision, the decision appears to be in line with its policy. We cannot question a decision taken without fault. In this case, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman