Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about verge maintenance because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complained the Council has failed to maintain a grass verge opposite her property. Mrs Y says this has caused her upset and it is affecting her ability to sell her house due to the verge’s appearance.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information Mrs Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs Y asked the Council to carry out maintenance work on the bank outside her home. The Council has told Mrs Y that due to the gradient of the bank, which is very steep and the height of the bank it is unsafe for the Council to carry out maintenance work. It has also said that its current maintenance schedule includes maintaining a one metre strip at the bottom of the bank with the remainder of the verge left to grow wild. Mrs Y is unhappy with this response and so has approached us.
6. We are not an appeal body. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. In this case the Council has considered Mrs Y’s request, safety concerns relating to its staff and what maintenance it already does. It has also considered the area itself, including the height and the gradient and how this would impact any work completed. These are relevant factors, following which it has decided not to act. As it has considered suitable relevant factors, there is not enough evidence of fault in the decision-making process to justify investigating this complaint. We will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman