Devon County Council (26 017 119)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council should take responsibility for the maintenance of a road which is in a poor condition. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
- Mr B says a local road is in a poor condition and is dangerous to road users. Mr B says this road has incorrectly been removed from the Council’s responsibility. Mr B would like the Council to reinstate this road to its schedule of highways which are maintainable at public expense.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B and have viewed this location online..
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has explained that another local authority is responsible for maintaining the road Mr B has complained about. The Council has provided a map of the highway network in support of its decision. The Council apologised to Mr B for initially telling him it was responsible for this road and said this was due to an error with the mapping system.
- Mr B may complain to the local authority the Council has referred to about the condition of this road. An investigation into the history of the maintenance responsibility for this road is not justified.
- If Mr B considers the Council should adopt this road as part of the public highway network then he can make this request to the Council.
- But, this would be a matter for the Council and the local authority to decide. It is not our role to tell the Council it should seek to adopt this road.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman