Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to prune a tree close to the complainant’s property. This is because there is no evidence of fault in the way the decision was made.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council has failed to respond reasonably to her request for works to a tree adjacent to her 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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says a tree on Council land overhangs her property. She says the overhanging branches cause damage and nuisance. She asked the Council to carry out pruning works. It has declined to do so.
6. Mrs X argues that this decision is flawed. She says the Council’s tree officer did not view the tree from her property when completing his report. She challenged the officer’s view, and says the Council agreed to carry out a site visit to her property. She says it reneged on this undertaking when confirming its decision not to carry out works. She wants the Council to see the situation from her property and reconsider its decision.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. It is not for us to take a view on whether the work Mrs X wants is necessary. That is a matter for the professional judgment of the Council’s officers. In the absence of evidence of fault on the officers’ part, we cannot criticise the decision they made or intervene to substitute an alternative view.
8. The fact that the Council did not view the tree from Mrs X’s property does not mean the decision on her request is flawed. The explanations the Council set out in its response to her complaint properly explain the reasons for the decision and are in line with the relevant tree management policy. The Council has addressed the matter through a two-stage process, whereby the tree officer’s decision has been reviewed by a senior officer. The decision was based on a reasonable level of consideration, and we will not criticise the process by which it was made. Investigation is not therefore warranted.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered her request.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman