Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway repairs. This is because there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains the Council has failed to repair the road outside his home and says the vibrations are causing cracks throughout his home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information Mr Y and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr Y complained to the Council about the vibrations coming from the road, which he said was in disrepair, in October and November 2021. The Council inspected the road and found that any defects did not meet its minimum intervention level for immediate repair. It also said it was unlikely that any traffic vibration would be causing the cracks in Mr Y’s home.
5. Mr Y continued to complain to the Council about the problem in January 2022. The Council repeated its earlier response. Mr Y asked the Council to reconsider the complaint in March. Mr Y said he was considering suing the Council for the damage to his home. The council then gave its final response to the complaint in April. It explained its decision further, including its criteria for the urgency of repairs where need on the road. It denied fault or liability for the damage to Mr Y’s property.

Analysis

6. Mr Y’s injustice largely relates to the damage to his property, which he says has been caused by vibrations from the road. Mr Y may wish to make a claim to his home insurer, who can make claim on the Council’s own insurance for the damage. The courts are able to decide liability and award damages, where the Ombudsman cannot. Any claim for damages, such as costs for repairs, which Mr Y considers the Council to be responsible for, are matters more appropriately dealt with by the courts if the Council disputes the claim.
7. Also, the Highways Act 1980 gives Mr Y the right to make a claim against the Council to the Magistrates Court for a highway being out of repair. It also gives the Council the right to put forward in court a defence against such a claim. The Ombudsman has no power to remove that right by investigating a complaint about damage alleged to result from fault or disrepair of the highway.
8. Consequently, the courts are better placed than us to consider this complaint so we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because the courts are better placed to consider this complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman