Cheshire East Council (26 004 268)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a complaint about the maintenance of a road because it is reasonable for the complainant to go to court about the substantive matter.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, says the Council failed to address his complaint about highway disrepair resulting in damage to his property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s correspondence with the Council concerned damage to his car caused when he hit a pothole in the highway, and an insurance claim he subsequently submitted.
- Mr X says that, as well as the claim, his complaint to the Council raised what he regarded as service and communication issues but, rather than respond to them, it treated the entire matter as an insurance claim and rejected it. He says he was effectively denied access to the Council’s complaint procedure.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The substantive matter is whether the Council is liable for the damage to Mr X’s car. Only the courts can decide whether the Council has maintained the highway properly or is liable for any damage to property due to a failure to repair the highway. The law also gives the Council the right to defend in court against any claims. It is therefore reasonable for Mr X to go to court and so I will not investigate.
- It is not a proportionate use of our resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issues. That is the case here.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable for the complainant to go to court about the substantive matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman