Northampton Borough Council (19 012 014)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Nov 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council will not repair his wall which Mr X says the Council knocked down. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to pursue this through the courts and so the complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council will not repair his garden wall which it knocked down.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint.
What I found
- Mr X complains a Council mower knocked down his garden wall and that the Council has refused to repair it.
Analysis
- We cannot determine if the Council is legally liable for the damage caused to Mr X’s wall or if compensation for the damage should be paid. Only the courts can do this. There is a simple, low cost procedure open to anyone to make a money claim in the courts or Mr X could consider using a ‘no win no fee’ solicitor.
- For these reasons, we consider it is reasonable to expect Mr X to resort to court action for the resolution he seeks. The complaint is therefore outside our legal remit.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to seek resolution through the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman