Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage caused to Mr X’s property from a fallen tree as we have already considered this matter. Mr X has a legal remedy to address any damage caused to his property from other trees and we cannot impose on the Council how it should operate its planning policy in respect of trees.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that:
1. in 2021 a Council tree fell on to his property causing significant damage to it, but the Council paid him no compensation,
2. the service level agreement (SLA) the Council has with its contractor to manage its trees is not fit for purpose,
3. there are several Council owned trees surrounding Mr X’s property that he wants to the Council to remove as he is worried they too will damage his property, and
4. the Council’s planning policy in respect of trees and new developments has not been updated to take account of the changing environment due to climate change.
2. Mr X has been impacted financially and says he has been caused stress and worry

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. 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 the alleged fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained or we can achieve no meaningful outcome by investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X complained to us previously about the damage caused to his home by a fallen tree and about the SLA between the Council and its contractors. We issued a decision on that case, and I cannot now revisit it. We will not therefore investigate this aspect of Mr X’s complaint.
8. I fully appreciate Mr X’s concerns about trees surrounding his property, but we cannot request that the Council removes them. If any are causing damage to Mr X’s home, then this would be a matter for the courts. Deciding about whether an organisation has been negligent usually involves looking rigorously, and in a structured way at evidence, as only the court can, to make its findings. In addition, only a court can decide if an organisation has been negligent and so should pay damages. We would therefore usually expect someone in Mr X’s position to seek a remedy in the courts, directly or through their insurers. I consider it is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to use this remedy and so we will not investigate this aspect of his complaint.
9. I recognise that Mr X would wish to see certain changes to the Council’s planning policies, but we are not empowered to recommend specific changes and so we could not achieve the outcome Mr X seeks, which is for the Council to change its policy in respect of new developments and trees. In addition, while I appreciate Mr X’s general concerns in this regard, I do not consider he is specifically impacted by this.
10. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part has already been considered. Mr X has a legal remedy for any damage issues, and we cannot achieve the other outcomes he seeks.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman