Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council will not carry out repairs to the access to the complainant’s home. It is unlikely he would find evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained about the condition of the surface of the highway where it crosses the footway to access his home. He says the Council should repair the surface.

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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.
3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. 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 that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint which included the Council’s response to his concerns.

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What I found

Summary of events

6. Some years ago, Mr B paid for the Council to provide a dropped kerb so he could access his property from the highway. Although Mr B paid for the work, the access remains part of the highway and the Council is responsible for its maintenance.
7. The Council has more recently tarmacked the footway and resurfaced the access to Mr B’s home. He says the tarmac is crumbling and the Council should repair it.
8. The Council has to decide how it uses its resources. It has criteria that take account of the seriousness of any disrepair and safety issues. The Council has inspected the highway outside Mr B’s home and decided its condition does not meet the repair criteria..

Analysis

9. The Council has not ignored Mr B’s concerns but has decided it cannot give priority to repairing the tarmac over other highways works. This was a matter for the Council to decide and I have seen nothing to suggest fault in how it did so.

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Final decision

10. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council. In the absence of fault, we cannot criticise the merits of the Council’s decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman