Summary: We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint the Council has failed to maintain the roads across its area. This is because we cannot investigate an issue that affects all or most people in the Council’s area. Also, Mr Y has an alternative court remedy and it is reasonable to expect him to use this.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains about the Council failing to maintain the roads across its area. He says the roads all have potholes.
2. Mr Y complains the Council failed to act on his reports of poorly maintained roads, including the road and roundabout near his home. Mr Y says the road near his home has huge potholes and dropped drains. He says this makes the road dangerous to use.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
5. The law 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr Y complains about potholes on the roads across the Council’s area. This is an issue that affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area. So, we cannot investigate.
9. Furthermore, the local highways authority has a statutory duty to maintain adopted highways. They are expected to routinely monitor the state of highways, depending on their classification and carry out repairs where necessary. But, the level of maintenance, frequency of inspection, and threshold for repair is not set out in law and is open to interpretation.
10. If a person considers that a highways authority has failed to maintain a highway it is responsible for, the person affected can apply to the Magistrates court for an order to be made under section 56 of the Highways Act 1980. This order requires the highways authority to carry out the work needed to the highway.
11. If the highways authority does not respond in time, or does not accept it is responsible for maintaining the road, the person may apply to the Crown court for such an order.
12. Mr Y may use this process to try to get the Council to repair the specific roads he refers to, including the area of road near his home. The court is in the best position to decide whether the Council has met its legal duty to maintain the highway. Also, unlike the Ombudsman, the court can order the Council to do the required work, so it is better placed than us to consider the complaint. We will therefore not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use this alternative court remedy.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we cannot investigate an issue that affects all or most people in the Council’s area. Also, Mr Y has an alternative court remedy and it is reasonable to expect him to use this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman