Summary: Mr X complained the Council installed a dropped kerb that is not fit for purpose. He said this is causing conflict with his neighbour and is a danger to himself and other road users. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council installed a dropped kerb that is not fit for purpose.
2. Mr X says this is causing conflict with neighbours and a danger to himself and other road users because he cannot clearly see clearly when leaving his property because of other vehicles parked on the road outside his house.
3. He would like the Council to put the work right by extending the dropped kerb.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to Mr X and considered his view of his complaint.
7. I made enquiries of the Council and considered the information it provided. This included the letter it issued to the residents where Mr X lives, photographs of the work it carried out along the street and details of installing dropped kerbs on its website.
8. I wrote to Mr X and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments before I made my final decision.

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What I found

Council’s policy

9. The Council’s policy on dropped kerbs states a standard dropped kerb will normally comprise of 3 dropped kerbs (2.7m) with 2 tapering kerbs. Where residents request an extension, the total flat section must not exceed 3.6m.

What happened

10. The Council carried out work to the road where Mr X lives. It sent residents a letter offering to extend existing dropped kerbs at a reduced cost while it carried out the work.
11. A number of residents took the Council’s offer up, including Mr X and his neighbour with whom he has a shared access. The Council extended the kerb outside Mr X and his neighbour’s property so it consisted of 6 dropped kerbs and two tapered kerbs.
12. Mr X was unhappy with the work and complained to the Council. He said it did not allow him to easily park on the driveway and his neighbour had complained he was blocking the drive. Mr X said the new length of dropped kerb was similar in length to the old one. Mr X was also unhappy because cars and vans were parking on the area of kerb which was still raised between his property and a neighbouring house.
13. The Council responded and said “You have been given a total of three and a half kerbs from the centre of your shared access, which is in my opinion adequate and, more importantly, consistent with what other residents were given, including your next door neighbour”.
14. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

15. I have seen photographs of Mr X’s old and new dropped kerb. The length of the old dropped kerb was two kerbs plus two tapered kerbs. The length of the new one is six dropped kerbs plus two tapered kerbs, shared between the two properties.
16. The Council has sent me measurements and photographs of the extensions to dropped kerbs it carried out on Mr X’s road. Measurements range from 2.7m to 3.2m with one larger extension to 4m. The length of Mr X’s dropped kerb indicates it is in line with these measurements.
17. We are not an appeal body, so cannot comment on the merits of judgements and decisions made by councils in the absence of fault in the process. Mr X said the dropped kerb is too short and is causing him problems parking and he is blocking the shared access. The Council has the view the dropped kerb is sufficient. The evidence I have seen corroborates the Council’s view. The Council is not at fault in how it made its decision. Therefore, I cannot question the decision itself.
18. The purpose of dropped kerbs are to allow people to access their driveways and are not to prevent people from parking outside someone else’s property. If Mr X believes people are parking illegally or dangerously, this is a matter for the police.

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Final decision

19. There was no fault in the Council’s actions. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman