Summary: The Ombudsman should not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the rights over land he owns. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to adjudicate in such disputes.

The complaint

1. Mr X disputes the Council’ assertions that land which he owns and wishes to enclose is part of the publicly maintained highway.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Mr X which includes the Councils responses to his complaint. I also discussed his concerns with him.

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What I found

5. Mr X says the Council claims highway rights over a piece of land he owns next to his home.
6. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to adjudicate in disputes over such rights, so I do not see that an investigation by the Ombudsman would resolve Mr X’s concerns about whether he can enclose his land or not. Rather, Mr X should seek legal advice on the matter.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is not our role to adjudicate in land rights disputes.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman