Nottinghamshire County Council (19 008 999)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s classification of three roads. If Mr X disagrees with the Council’s view it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to court.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has wrongly classified three roads. As a result, he says the Council refuses to accept liability to maintain the roads, which it believes are the responsibility of the residents whose homes front onto them.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 reviewed Mr X’s complaint, shared my draft decision with him and invited his comments.
What I found
- Mr X complains the Council has wrongly classified three roads as private or unadopted. He suggests the roads are out of repair and require maintenance and that the Council is responsible for the cost of this. But the Council will not maintain the roads as it does not agree.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The key issue in this case is whether the roads are out of repair and whether the Council is liable to maintain them. Section 56 of the Highways Act 1980 provides an alternative mechanism for Mr X to challenge the Council’s position and I have seen nothing to suggest it would not be reasonable for him to use this process. The courts are better placed to determine whether the roads are maintainable at the public expense and, if they are, they may order the Council to carry out any repairs they feel are necessary.
- It is not our role to interpret the law and we cannot force the Council to carry out repairs to roads where their status is in dispute.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman