Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council’s response to his concerns relating to the obstruction of the pavement in his road. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr B to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr B, says the Council failed to take adequate action to address the obstruction of the pavement in his road caused by the collection of wheelie bins and parked cars. He says this is causing a danger to him and other vulnerable pedestrians.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Mr B and the Council. I gave Mr B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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What I found

4. Mr B complained to the Council that after emptying wheelie bins in his road, binmen were leaving them on the pavement causing an obstruction. He said the bin men should be placing the emptied bins back in residents’ driveways.
5. The Council responded by raising the matter with the waste removal manager who advised the crew of the complaint. A Council officer also visited the site to see the situation for himself. The Council then wrote to Mr B to explain the action it had taken and that it was satisfied the binmen were returning the bins in line with their contractual obligations and that the bins were not blocking the free movement of pedestrians.
6. In response to Mr B’s formal complaint about the matter, the Council explained that it has no authority to tell residents where to place their bins on the pavement for collection and that in line with its contractual agreement, the bin men are obliged to return the bins to the point at which they are collected and so do not have to place them on driveways. In response to Mr B’s concerns about cars parking on the pavement, it advised Mr B that this is a matter for the police.

Assessment

7. While I understand Mr B is concerned about the obstruction caused by the collection of the wheelie bins, particularly as he has said he is a carer for someone in a wheelchair, the Council properly considered his complaint and explained it cannot tell residents where to place their bins. Its investigation revealed no significant problems with the way the bin men were placing the bins back once emptied.
8. In the absence of evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with this matter, there are insufficient grounds to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decisionn

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Mr B to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman