Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take action over a caravan placed on private land in his street. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which has caused any injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council failing to take action over a resident who has taken over part of its land for parking a caravan. He says the caravan may be being lived in permanently and wants the Council to remove it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• 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

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response.

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What I found

4. Mr X asked the Council to remove a caravan which has been placed on land at the end of his street. He says the adjacent householder removed the fence and trespassed on the Council’s land by storing a caravan on it. He told the Council that he is concerned the caravan may be being used by as living accommodation
5. The Council investigated the site and told him that the land is not Council-owned. The land belongs to Highways England because it forms part of a highway embankment. The Council cannot take action over someone storing a caravan on land which it does not own. Trespass is a civil offence and it is for the landowner involved to take their own action against anyone using their land without permission.
6. The Council says it would pass the report to Highways England who will need to take their own action. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. If it does not own the land it cannot take any action for trespass by the neighbouring householder.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which has caused any injustice to Mr X.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman