Herefordshire Council (24 009 680)

Category : Transport and highways > Rights of way

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 13 Oct 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about rights of way because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

  1. Mr Y complained the Council failed to remove overgrown plants which he says is blocking the pavement.
  2. Mr Y says he feels frustrated by the issue and feels the Council has not taken the issue seriously enough in line with its powers to remove obstructions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss of injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
  2. While Mr Y may feel strongly about the issue and have spent time complaining to the Council about it, he has not suffered a serious loss, harm or distress which would justify use of public funds for us to investigate. Consequently, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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