Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council seeking to recover from the complainant the costs of repairing a damaged footway. It is unlikely he would find evidence of fault by the Council and the courts are better placed to decide if the complainant is liable to pay the repair costs.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs B, has complained the Council says she must pay the cost of repairing the footway outside her home. Mrs B says she was not responsible for the damage but the Council will not accept her evidence.

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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.
3. 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
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. 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 that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mrs B said in her complaint and background information provided by the Council.

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What I found

6. Section 133 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) gives the Council the power to recover the cost of repairing any damage to the highway caused by works on adjacent land. This can be from the owner of the land, whoever carried out the works or the person on whose behalf the works were carried out.
7. The Council believes works carried out at Mrs B home caused damage to the footway. It told her it would seek to recover the repair costs from her. Mrs B provided evidence she believes shows she was not responsible for the damage but the Council has not been persuaded this is the case.
8. I consider it is for the Council to consider any evidence and decide what weight to give to it. While Mrs B disagrees with the Council’s conclusion, I have not seen anything to suggest fault in how the Council has considered the matter. Without evidence of such fault, we cannot question the Council’s decision.
9. Further, if Mrs B does not pay the amount required by the Council, it is possible it will take court action to recover the cost of repairs. If it does this, it will be open to Mrs B to present any evidence that she is not liable to pay these costs.

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Final decision

10. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council and the courts are better placed to decide if Mrs B is liable to pay the repair costs.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman