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.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a footway outside his property. He says the footway is poorly surfaced. He also complains the dropped kerb outside his property does not align with his driveway. Mr X says the poorly surfaced footway is dangerous and the poorly aligned dropped kerbs makes it difficult for him to access his 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke with Mr X and considered the information he provided.
6. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided.
7. I sent a draft decision to Mr X and the Council and considered their comments.

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What I found

The Council’s Asset Management Strategy 2019

8. This document notes the Council has a rolling forward programme of maintenance schemes. It details that prior to the start of each financial year, schemes are selected in priority order to fit the annual budget allocations.

What happened

9. In the 2017/18 financial year, the Council completed a footway reconstruction scheme. The Council agreed to leave out a 45-meter section of the footway because of a development of new houses. The Council said this was to prevent works vehicles from damaging the newly laid footway vehicles. This 45-meter section of footway includes the footway outside of Mr X’s property.
10. During the 2018/19 financial year, around December 2018, the developer told the Council it had completed its works.
11. In January 2019, the Council sent its programme of works for the 2019/20 financial year to the Cabinet for approval.
12. In April 2019, Mr X contacted the Council to enquire about the footway outside his property. Mr X asked the Council whether it would repair the footway.
13. In May 2019, the Council made a request for the footway repair, scheme A, to be put onto the 2019/20 programme of works. The Council updated Mr X that it was trying to do this. The request was declined because the 2019/20 programme of works had already agreed by the Cabinet and there was no further budget available for further schemes.
14. In September 2019, Mr X contacted the Council to get an update on the situation.
15. In October 2019, the Council’s highway department asked again for scheme A to be put onto the 2019/20 programme of works. This was again declined for the same reasons.
16. The Council wrote to Mr X and told him scheme A would not be completed in the 2019/20 financial year and instead would be added onto the 2020/21 programme.
17. In November 2019, the Council added scheme A onto the 2019/20 programme of works. The Council explained this was because an existing scheme was removed from the programme and this gave the Council the budget to progress with scheme A.
18. The Council completed scheme A in March 2020. Mr X confirmed the Council had completed the works.

Analysis

19. The evidence shows the Council did not repair the footway outside Mr X’s property during the 2017/18 financial year because of development works taking place.
20. The developers did not tell the Council of its completion of the development works until the 2018/19 financial year. As outlined in the Council’s strategy document, the Council decides on the programme of works before the start of each financial year.
21. Therefore, the Council could not have added scheme A to the 2018/19 programme of works because the development works did not finish until after the Council had already decided the 2018/19 programme of works.
22. The evidence shows the Council had tried on two occasions to get scheme A onto the 2019/20 programme of works. The Council was not successful because it had already agreed the 2019/20 programme of works and there was no further budget.
23. Therefore, I do not consider the Council acted with any fault here. This is because the Council correctly followed its processes when it tried to get scheme A onto the 2019/20 programme of works.
24. Further, I cannot find fault with the Council’s decision not to place scheme A onto the 2019/20 programme of works. This is because the Council had followed its process and had agreed its 2019/20 programme of works before the start of the financial year. The Council has provided good reason for why it could not include scheme A onto the 2019/20 programme of works. As the Council has shown proper consideration of the matter, I cannot find fault with its decision.
25. However, it does not appear the Council updated Mr X of this which meant Mr X had to chase the Council for an update in September 2019. The Council should have updated Mr X when it knew scheme A would not be put onto the 2019/20 programme as this is good practice. However, I do not consider this amounts to fault causing significant injustice.
26. The Council was able to put scheme A onto the 2019/20 programme of works. The Council explained this was because a space became available. There is no fault with this because it was appropriate for the Council to reconsider its decision when the situation changed.

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Final decision

27. I find no fault with the Council’s actions. I have completed my investigation.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

28. Mr X also complained about a blocked drain near his property. He said the Council has not responded to his service complaint. I have not investigated this matter as the Council has not yet had the opportunity to respond to his service request/complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman