Highway repair and maintenance

City of York Council (19 011 056)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 22-Jun-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman discontinued his investigation into Mr X's complaint about the Council's failure to deal with flooding/mud on a road because there was insufficient injustice to Mr X to justify his continued involvement.

Kent County Council (19 020 328)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 17-Jun-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X's complaint about the Council's use of her email address to report a fictitious pothole as part of its staff training. The Council has explained to Miss X how the error occurred and taken appropriate action to deal with this. It is unlikely further investigation would achieve anything more.

Essex County Council (19 012 030)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 01-Jun-2020

Summary: Mr X complains about a footway outside his property. He says the footway is poorly surfaced and is dangerous. He also complains about a poorly aligned dropped kerb. Mr X says the footway is dangerous. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council's actions.

Buckinghamshire County Council (19 002 566)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 22-May-2020

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council's decision to reinstate a grass verge outside his home, which it mistakenly gave him permission to remove. Mr X feels the Council's offer his additional costs is unreasonable. The Ombudsman finds the Council has acted reasonably, but has not properly explained how it calculated the reimbursement offered to Mr X. The Council has agreed consider evidence of the costs Mr X incurred and make a reasonable offer to reimburse him based on this. The Council has also agreed to make a payment to refund the licence fee and to recognise the time and trouble caused to Mr X.

Herefordshire Council (19 013 655)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 13-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council failed to remove logs and branches from the embankment of a shared use path. The Council was not at fault in its decision not to clear the cuttings.

Essex County Council (19 007 868)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr B complained the Council failed to act when he reported a drain in the highway causing vibration in his property. There is no fault in how the Council considered Mr B's concerns.

Plymouth City Council (19 002 170)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mrs B complains the Council failed to respond properly or take effective action in response to reports about overgrown vegetation. Mrs B is registered blind and walks into brambles and has spent unnecessary time and trouble in trying to get the matter resolved. The Ombudsman has found some fault by the Council but does not consider this has caused a significant injustice requiring a remedy above the completed work, apology and explanation already provided by the Council.

Lincolnshire County Council (19 006 318)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 24-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council's responses to reports of highway disrepair were flawed. The Council could have better communicated its intentions to Mr X. However, there was no fault in the decisions the Council made and we found there was no fault by the Council.

Essex County Council (19 008 818)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 06-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr B complained the Council failed to act when he reported damage to his road causing noise and vibration in his property. There is no fault in how the Council dealt with the issue.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council (19 007 928)

Statement Not upheld Highway repair and maintenance 13-Jan-2020

Summary: The complainant says the Council failed to keep in good repair the public highway outside his home causing difficulties for him when driving out of his driveway. The Council says the changed levels do not meet its repair criteria and so it has not undertaken any highway repair work. The Ombudsman finds part of the complaint is out of jurisdiction because Mr X has an alternative remedy. The Ombudsman further finds the Council considered whether it should undertake work without fault.