City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (25 016 637)
Category : Environment and regulation > Trees
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council maintained trees outside his home. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about how the Council maintained trees outside his home. He also complains about how it handled his complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained the Council did not prune tree branches overhanging his driveway. He said the Council pruned the tree three years ago. Mr X said the overhanging tree branches were making it difficult to access his driveway. He said the Council had carried out work to another tree on the road.
- The Council said it has changed its policy. It said it would now only carry out its statutory duty to remove obstructions from the Highway. It explained the other tree was causing an obstruction. It noted the branches were overhanging Mr X’s property and explained it was his right to cut back overhanging branches.
- I will not investigate this complaint. The Council has acted in line with its policy. It has changed its policy since it previously carried out work to the tree. It was entitled to do this. If the Council followed its process correctly, we cannot question its decision even if a complainant disagrees with the decision made.
- It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman