Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council breaching an agreement to monitor a hedge to ensure compliance with a Remedial Notice and to publish correct information on its website. The Council confirms it is continuing with annual inspections, the hedge is currently below actionable height and the website is up to date. We do not consider that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains:
• the Council has breeched its agreement for monitoring her neighbour’s high hedge; and
• its website does not show the correct status of the high hedge remedial notice.
2. She wants the Council to:
• recommit to annual inspections
• correct the information on the website; and
• apologise

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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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. In response to my enquiries the Council confirms it will be making annual inspections of the neighbour’s hedge as agreed. It also confirms the hedge is below the actionable height.
7. The Council’s website shows the high hedge enforcement case is now closed as the owners are complying with the enforcement notice.
8. The Ombudsman does not consider it is a good use of public resources to investigate complaints where the sole achievement is to achieve an apology.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we consider further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman