Lancashire County Council (25 012 047)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Sep 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that his property has been flooded due to the Council’s failure to provide adequate highway drainage. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to take the Council to court.
The complaint
- Mr B complains his property has been flooded due to the Council’s failure to provide adequate highway drainage. Mr B also says the Council has provided misleading information about the cause of the flooding. Mr B would like the Council to apologise, fix the drainage system, and, pay him compensation for his financial losses.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Act says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We do not normally investigate complaints about damage to property. This is because such complaints are ultimately about whether an organisation has been negligent. Negligence claims are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if needed, the courts.
- The Council’s insurers have considered Mr B’s claim for the damage to his property but do not accept the damage was the result of negligence by the Council. Mr B may now pursue his claim by taking the Council to court.
- Because of the seriousness of the issue complained about, I find it is reasonable for Mr B to do this, either directly or via his home insurer. Only the courts can decide if the Council has been negligent, and if so, make an order for damages.
- So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to take the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman