Summary: There was no fault by the Council in a complaint about noise and dust nuisance caused by nearby construction works.

The complaint

1. I refer to the complainant here as Mrs X. Mrs X complains about noise and dust nuisance caused by nearby construction works. Mrs X says:
• The Council did not take into account the colossal amount of construction noise created by the development.
• The Council did nothing to address her concerns and threw a bunch of regulations at her that it said it had followed.
• The Council failed to provide a good service to her. The Council trashed everyone’s front gardens in the name of laying down a new path. Plants in her garden were destroyed and years of memory were trashed. The new pavement is uneven and poorly laid.
• The construction workers did not keep to their own schedule of work. Residents were not kept informed of their contingency plans. They were far behind even though they came and went as they pleased.
• They failed to meet expected standards on many levels starting with a physiological contract of mutual benefit.
• They gave her the wrong information and at other times did not give any information.
• The noise was so strong and disturbing that she suffered a severe panic attack and now suffers lifelong tinnitus. She had to seek the help and support of mental health professionals and her GP.
• She experienced financial loss or avoidable expense because the car park was closed due to the works. Residents had to find parking on the street which meant going around in circles at night trying to find a spot near her home. This meant a waste of petrol. She also had to take her car to a carwash because she was unable to wash it outside her home.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. I discussed matters with Mrs X by telephone. I sent a draft decision statement to Mrs X and the Council and invited the comments of both sides on it.

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What I found

5. Ms X says the major development nearby her home has continued since 2019 and has caused her a disturbance which affects her physical and mental health.
6. The Council says that the work has been delayed due to the pandemic but will finish soon. The Council asked the developers to keep noise and disturbance down to a minimum. The Council added that planning conditions required that the developer carry out work within certain prescribed hours. The Council says that there have been no breaches of this condition.
7. The Council also confirms that dust prevention measures have been undertaken by the developer and so there are no grounds to take action against them.
8. There is no evidence that the Council has failed to monitor the site or investigate the complaints made and so there is no fault by the Council. In the absence of fault, I stopped this investigation and closed the complaint.

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Final decision

9. I closed this complaint because I did not find fault by the Council in the matters raised here by Ms X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman