Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s maintenance of the verges on a road Mr X uses. This is because he can pursue the matter in a court.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council has failed to maintain the verges of a road. He says it is overgrown, and fly tipped. He says pedestrians cannot use the verge when cars pass which could cause an accident. He also says the Council should not allow its contractor to answer complaints on its behalf.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

4. Mr X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
5. The Council replied that its highways team had inspected and found no safety risks. It advised Mr X could raise new service requests regarding specific locations. Mr X said he had given full details, and it was not his responsibility but the Council’s to demonstrate the verge was safe. The Council’s highways contractor gave further details about its inspection and role. It advised that it inspected whole roads as part of its regular safety inspections. The Council confirmed its contractor’s response.
6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to go to court. Mr X can apply to a Magistrates’ court for an order requiring the Council to take whatever action is needed to bring the highway up to standard.
7. To do this the complainant should serve a notice requiring the Council to repair the highway. The Council must reply, confirming if it is the authority responsible for the highway. If it is, the complainant then has six months to apply to the Magistrates’ court for an order under the Highways Act 1980 s56. Providing the magistrates agree, the order requires the highway authority to carry out the work.
8. Mr X raised concerns regarding the complaint responses from the contractor. However, we will not in this because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are not investigating with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he can go to court regarding the highway maintenance issues.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman