Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has denied ownership of a piece of land where she fell. We will not investigate as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council or that we can add to what it has already said.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has denied ownership of a piece of land where she fell. Mrs X seeks compensation for injuries she sustained but does not know who owns the land.

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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 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)
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mrs X said in her complaint and I have sent her my draft decision on it for her comments.

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What I found

5. Mrs X fell on an uneven piece of land and sustained injuries for which Mrs X seeks compensation. Mrs X says she has been told the Council owns the land but complains it has told her it does not.
6. The Council has sent Mrs X a land registry plan which it says shows the land is not Council land and is unregistered. It has provided information about tracing owners of unregistered land and suggested Mrs X might seek legal advice.

Analysis

7. The Council has advised Mrs X it does not own the land and supplied a plan to demonstrate this. There is no indication the Council is at fault in saying this and we cannot challenge the Council’s position or determine who does own the land. We cannot therefore add to what the Council has already told Mrs X and we will not therefore investigate.

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Final decision

8. My decision is that we will not investigate this complaint as we cannot add to what the Council has already said and there is no indication of fault in that.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman