Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to properly maintain highway trees. This is because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr X, complains that the Council has failed to properly maintain highway trees on his street, thereby preventing the effective use of solar panels at his property.

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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 do not start an investigation if we decide 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. Mr X says that he, and other residents of his street, want to take part in a scheme for the installation of solar panels at their homes. The scheme’s contractors have told him that shade from highway trees would prevent solar panels from being effective, and installation cannot therefore be carried out under the scheme.
6. Mr X contends that the Council has failed to maintain the trees, and that this has resulted in them becoming too large. He wants the Council to reduce the size of the trees to enable him and his neighbours to participate in the solar panel scheme, and to commit to ongoing maintenance at a level which will ensure the optimum performance of the panels.
7. The Council has declined to reduce the size of the trees. It has set out the grounds on which its tree policy applies to Mr X’s request. Specifically, it draws attention to its focus on public safety and the fact that it has no obligation to address issues caused by shading. Mr X believes the Council’s response is unreasonable.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The question for us is not whether the trees are too tall, or whether the Council should reduce the size of them. Rather, it is whether there is evidence of fault on the Council’s part. There is no such evidence.
9. There is nothing to suggest that the Council has failed to implement its tree policy, or to properly explain the reasons for its position. The fact that this effectively prevents Mr X and his neighbours from taking part in the solar panel scheme is unfortunate for them. But the evidence does not show that this follows from fault on the Council’s part. In the absence of such evidence, it is not for the Ombudsman to criticise the professional judgement of the Council’s officers, or intervene to substitute an alternative view.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman