Shropshire Council (24 012 159)

Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 25 Nov 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because it is late with no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

The complaint

  1. Mr Y complained the Council has failed to ensure a landowner removes a hedge, planted in 2019, which he says reduces visibility on a sharp bend. Mr Y is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his complaint.
  2. Mr Y says he has repeatedly contacted the Council about the matter over several years, causing him inconvenience and frustration and he is concerned about the safety of the road with the reduced visibility.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
  2. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

  1. The law says people should normally complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of an issue. Complaints brought to the Ombudsman more than 12 months after someone becomes aware of something a council has done are considered late. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons.
  2. Mr Y’s was aware of his reason to complain about the Council’s actions when he contacted the Council about the hedge in 2021, having previously raised the issue twice in 2019. Consequently, the complaint is now late. We have discretion to disapply the rule outlined in paragraph three where we decide there are good reasons. In this case, Mr Y has been able to contact the Council about the hedge over a number of years, so it is reasonable to expect him to have complained to us sooner. As he has not been prevented from approaching us, in the same way he did approach the Council, there is not sufficient good reason to exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint now. We will not investigate.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is late without good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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