West Sussex County Council (25 000 178)
Category : Environment and regulation > Trees
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Jun 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage caused to the complainant’s property by trees. It is reasonable to expect the complainant to claim on the Council’s insurer. If the claim is refused she can take the matter to court.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains a Council-owned tree near her fence has caused significant damage, making it impossible to secure her fence panels correctly.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint.
- The Council says its arboriculturists regularly inspect the trees along Mrs X’s boundary regularly. The most recent inspection was in July 2024. Officers decided the damage to Mrs X’s fence is unlikely to be caused by tree growth. The Council told Mrs X she could make a claim on its insurance if she believes its tree/s damaged her fence.
- Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We cannot decide liability in complaints about damage to property, only the insurers or the courts can do this.
- The Ombudsman cannot determine if the Council is liable for the damage to Mrs X’s property and whether it is responsible for her being unable to secure her fence panels. It is therefore reasonable to expect her to claim on the Council’s insurance. If the insurers refuse her claim, she can take the matter to court.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot determine whether the Council is liable for the damage to Mrs X’s fence and her inability to secure her property. It is reasonable expect her to claim on the Council’s insurance. If that fails, she can take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman