Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about delays in resurfacing a road. This is because there is insufficient evidence of injustice and because it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about delays by the Council in resurfacing the road that she lives in.

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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 an investigation if we believe:

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. The road that Mrs X lives in was last resurfaced in 2003. She says there are many potholes and the road is in a poor condition. Her car has not been damaged although she says her house shakes when large vehicles go by. She says neighbours have had their cars and windscreens damaged by loose stones and potholes.
5. The Council says the road meets safety standards but agrees it needs to be resurfaced. It has apologised for a delay in completing the work. It told Mrs X that this is due to a problem it has had with the contractor. A new contractor is taking over the work and hopes to resurface the road by the end of March 2020. In the meantime the current contractor will do any temporary repairs needed to keep the road safe.

Assessment

6. I will not start an investigation for the following reasons.
7. I appreciate Mrs X is concerned by the condition of the road and would like it to be resurfaced as soon as possible. However, this concern does not represent an injustice which requires an investigation by the Ombudsman.
8. The Council hopes to resurface the road by the end of March. This may not be as soon as Mrs X would like but emergency work will be done in the interim and there may be other roads which are in a worse condition which need to be given priority. In addition, it is very unlikely that an investigation would lead to the work being done sooner.

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Final decision

9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice and it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman