Essex County Council (19 011 160)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 03 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about overgrown vegetation on the road on which the complainant lives. It is unlikely he would find fault by the Council has caused the complainant significant injustice.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs B, has complained the Council has not cut back vegetation, particularly brambles, on the rural road on which she lives. She says this is dangerous for her children and has led to damage to her car.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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, for example, we believe:
- it is unlikely we would find fault; or
- the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained;
- the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mrs B said in her complaint and background information provided by the Council.
What I found
- The Council says the owners of land at the side of the road are responsible for maintaining any hedges on the verges. It therefore seems likely the Council is not responsible for cutting back brambles at the side of the road.
- The Council has also explained it needs to prioritise the use of its resources and cannot deal with all instances of overgrown vegetation. It has however inspected the road recently and it is satisfied the condition of the verges meets its maintenance standards.
Final decision
- I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council has caused Mrs B injustice that warrants our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman