Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about tree branches being dumped in his garden by his neighbour. This is because we are unlikely to achieve anything more to add to the Council’s investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X says he has complained about crime from his neighbour to the Council, but no action has been taken. He says his neighbour is a council tenant, so the Council is responsible for the neighbour’s actions.
2. Mr X says the neighbour has dumped tree branches in his garden which represents a crime being committed against him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Councils have a general duty to take action to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). But ASB can take many different forms; and councils should make informed decisions about which of their powers is most appropriate for any given situation.
7. In this case I have seen information showing the Council has acted appropriately by investigating Mr X’s complaint. It has also visited Mr X and inspected the tree branches.
8. Overall, the Council has advised Mr X that the branches do not represent a crime or anti-social behaviour. And it has advised him about options available to him such as the ‘community trigger’ process.
9. I also note the Council says, as a goodwill gesture, it agreed housing staff can collect the branches providing Mr X moves them to the front of his property (it says access problems prevent it collecting from Mr X’s back garden).
10. Mr X has not been able to move the branches and no further action has been taken.
11. In these circumstances we will not investigate as we are unlikely to achieve anything to add to the Council’s investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because further investigation is unlikely to add anything more to the Council’s investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman