Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to remove or prune trees. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains Council-owned trees are overhanging her garden, blocking sunlight and that leaves are damaging her garden. She wants the Council to prune or remove the trees.

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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 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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X says the Council’s trees overhanging her property are blocking light, shedding leaves and attracting vermin. She asked the Council to prune or remove the trees.
7. The Council surveyed the trees in 2026 and found them to be in good health. It considered Mrs X’s concerns under the Council’s adopted tree policy, which says:
• a tree will not be pruned because of debris drop related to the fall of leaves or sap.
• the Council does not prune trees which are blocking light to residential gardens.
8. The Council decided there were no grounds to prune or remove the trees under its tree policy.
9. Mrs X also says that the overgrown trees increase crime. The Council has said that this is a police matter and should be reported to the police.
10. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. The Council’s process in deciding not to prune or remove the trees involved assessing the situation and applying its policy. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to warrant an investigation. We realise Mrs X disagrees with the decision, but this itself is not evidence of fault.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman