Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to provide additional footway outside his property. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council refusing to provide pavement outside his home. He has recently reconstructed his driveway and he says that it is no longer level with the edge of the junction with the highway. He says this damages his tyres when he exits the driveway.

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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
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, 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 have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint.

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What I found

4. Mr X says following reconstruction work to his driveway the junction with the access to the road is no longer level. This means that he bumps his car’s tyres when he exits and enters his property. He asked the Council to alter the level of the footway to remove this problem.
5. The Council says it is not responsible for the new levels of Mr X’s driveway and it will not use public resources to improve Mr X’s own access. The highway does not present any issues to other highway users which would warrant it taking action. The Council says it still retains highway rights over the land and it may consider carrying out any works to the driveway which Mr X would have to fund himself.
6. 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. There is no evidence of any fault on the Council’s part which would warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman