Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with water on the public highway. That is because any fault has not caused a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to take appropriate action to deal with water that flowed onto the pavement and road where he lived. He said the water posed a significant risk to pedestrians and motorists when it froze. Mr X wants the Council to install a drain to divert the water.

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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 any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In the Council’s complaint response, it said the water flowing onto the public highway was coming from an underground spring that ran underneath the properties on Mr X’s Street. It said it would not complete any drainage work to deal with the water, as the spring might naturally move, therefore the problem might resolve itself. It also said the issue was not caused by the condition of the highway’s drainage network. The Council said it had installed a grit bin for icy weather which it considered the most effective way of dealing with the issue.
6. Although Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s response, we will not investigate this complaint. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. Mr X has not been caused a significant injustice by the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not been caused a significant injustice by the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman