Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed installing her dropped kerb. We find the Council was at fault for its delays in progressing Mrs X’s dropped kerb application and for its communication with her about the progress of the application. This caused Mrs X frustration and upset. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mrs X to reflect her injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council delayed installing her dropped kerb. This has caused distress and upset to the whole family.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. Mrs X refers to events from 2020, but she did not refer her complaint to us until October 2025. I am satisfied Mrs X could have referred her earlier concerns to us sooner. Therefore, my investigation will focus on events from October 2024 (12 months before Mrs X referred her complaint to us) to October 2025. Any reference to events before October 2024 will be for contextual purposes only.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Mrs X applied for a dropped kerb in 2020. This application did not proceed.
9. The Council reinspected the site in October 2024. It issued a quote for the works in December.
10. Mrs X paid for the dropped kerb in mid-February 2025.
11. Mrs X emailed the Council in April and asked for an update of when it would complete the works. The Council responded and said it could not locate her application. It asked for the reference number.
12. Mrs X provided the Council with the information. The Council responded and confirmed it had allocated the payment. It said it would contact her with a programme date.
13. Mrs X emailed the Council in mid-May and asked about the progress of the works. She said she had recently ordered an electric car for her disabled son. She needed a dropped kerb so she could park on her drive to charge it. The Council responded and said it was waiting for a date for the root pruning works before it could provide a programme date.
14. Mrs X emailed the Council again in mid-June and chased for an update. The Council responded the following day and confirmed it had provisionally booked the works for 23 to 25 July.
15. The Council visited the site on 23 July. It decided it could not install the dropped kerb with the proposed material, grasscrete, because of a shallow cable. It decided to use tarmac instead.
16. Mrs X complained to the Council on the same day. She said she paid over £9,000 for the dropped kerb. The Council had failed to allocate the payment properly, which had caused delays. She also said the Council initially decided grasscrete was a suitable material for the dropped kerb rather tarmac. However, it had now decided grasscrete was unsuitable. She said if it had stuck to tarmac at the start it could have installed the dropped kerb. She said her son is disabled and they could not charge the car because of the delays.
17. The Council’s dropped kerb team apologised for the inconvenience caused by the delays and changes to the planned works. It said the initial proposal for a grasscrete finish was made in good faith, based on available information and in line with environmental considerations. However, this was now unsuitable. It said it was in the process of arranging a revised quote for a dropped kerb with tarmac.
18. Mrs X emailed the Council in mid-August. She said the Council’s delays were continuing to have a significant impact on her and her son’s health. The Council responded and said it was awaiting an update from the dropped kerbs team.
19. The Council issued its response to Mrs X’s complaint in early September. It said there was an issue with the utility which meant it could not install the dropped kerb with grasscrete. It apologised for the frustration caused and it said it would keep her updated as the revised quote progressed. It also said if it had used tarmac at the outset, it is likely there would not have been sufficient clearance to proceed safely. It said it would raise this issue with the utility company.
20. Mrs X referred her complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaint process. She said its communication was poor and it had not considered her son’s disability and the impact it was having.
21. The Council issued its final response to Mrs X’s complaint in mid-October. It apologised for the lack of communication from the dropped kerb team and the inconvenience its delays had caused. It said an officer from the dropped kerb team would contact her when they received the updated quote. Mrs X referred her complaint to the Ombudsman on the same day.
22. The Council has now installed the dropped kerb.

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Analysis

23. The Council has information on its website for how long it takes to install a dropped kerb. It takes 16 weeks to install a standard dropped kerb from when it receives the payment. Non-standard works, such as those with utility works like this case, will take over 20 weeks. The Council took significant longer than 20 weeks in Mrs X’s case.
24. I accept the Council would not have known, until it started the works, that a shallow cable was present that prevented it from using grasscrete. This technical issue was outside the Council’s control. The inspection from October 2024 did not highlight any issues with the material.
25. However, I have identified matters within the Council’s control which led to delays in progressing Mrs X’s application. Mrs X paid for the dropped kerb in February 2025. The Council took two months to allocate the payment, and that is after Mrs X chased for an update. This is fault, which meant there was a delay in confirming a programme start date.
26. The Council also delayed contacting third parties to progress the application. It decided to get a revised quote for the tarmac in late July 2025. However, from the documents the Council has provided me with, it did not contact the utility company about the issue with the cables and what the next steps would be until October 2025.
27. The Council was also at fault for its communication with Mrs X. It failed to provide her with updates, and she had to repeatedly chase to find out what was happening with her application.
28. The Council’s faults outlined above have caused Mrs X frustration and upset, and she has been put to the inconvenience of having to chase for updates. She also has some uncertainty that but for the delays, the Council would have installed the dropped kerb sooner and that she would have been able to charge her son’s car on her drive rather than having to go to the local shopping centre. The Council has apologised to Mrs X several times. I welcome this. However, an apology alone is not sufficient to remedy Mrs X’s injustice. I make a further recommendation.

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Action

29. By 15 September 2026 the Council has agreed to pay Mrs X £200 to reflect her injustice.
30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above action.

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Decision

31. There was fault by the Council, which caused Mrs X an injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendation and so I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman