Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council has failed to ensure a public footpath was safe to use, resulting in damage to his clothing. This is because the complaint is late and it would be reasonable for Mr X to complain to us sooner. The courts are also better placed to consider whether the Council is responsible for the damage. This is not something we can decide.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to ensure a public footpath was safe to use. He says he suffered damage to his clothing which was caused by barbed wire overhanging the footpath. He wants the Council to pay him £30 in compensation for the damage.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Following the damage to his clothing Mr X made a claim to the Council for compensation. The Council’s insurers refused the claim in May 2023 and explained he may wish to seek legal advice.
8. Mr X complained to us in November 2025, more than two years after the insurer’s decision to refuse his claim. The complaint is therefore late as set out at Paragraph 4. I have seen no good reasons for the delay in bringing the complaint to us and I will not therefore exercise my discretion to investigate the complaint.
9. It is in any event not our role to determine claims for property damage. These are matters for the courts, which are better placed to consider the legal arguments made by the Council’s insurers in response to Mr X’s claim. Mr X may choose not to pursue the matter at court, and may now be outside the timescales for doing so, but the amount of the injustice he claims is not significant and we would not therefore investigate even if the matter fell within our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to complain to us sooner. The courts are also better placed to consider Mr X’s claim for damages, and the amount of the injustice he claims is not significant enough to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman