Summary: The Council failed to take the action it agreed to take to deal with overgrown shrubs and trees. The Council will now take this action, it will provide evidence that the works are included on a maintenance programme and it will puts checks in place to ensure works are carried out properly in future.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains that the Council is failing to properly deal with overgrown shrubs and trees. He says that this is causing the highways to be obstructed, is unsightly and is reducing the effectiveness of street lights.

Back to top

What I have investigated

2. I have investigated Mr B’s complaints about issues which are located near to his home. The last section of this statement explains why I have not investigated Mr B’s complaints about issues which are further away.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council has provided; and
• given the Council and the complainant the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

Back to top

What I found

The law

7. It is the duty of the highway authority to assert and protect the rights of the public to the use and enjoyment of any highway for which they are the highway authority (Section 130, Highways Act 1980)
8. Where a hedge, tree or shrub overhangs a highway or any other road or footpath to which the public has access so as to endanger or obstruct the passage of vehicles or pedestrians, or obstructs or interferes with the view of drivers of vehicles or the light from a public lamp, the authority may require the owner of the hedge, tree or shrub to lop or cut it to remove the cause of the danger, obstruction or interference within 14 days from the date of service of a notice. (Section 154, Highways Act 1980)
9. If a person who has been served a notice fails to comply with it, the authority may carry out the work required and recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them from the person in default. (Section 154, Highways Act 1980)

Key events and analysis

10. Mr B has complained to the Council and to One Trafford Partnership about overgrown shrubs and trees in several areas near to his home. One Trafford maintains these areas on behalf of the Council.

Area 1

11. In July 2018, Mr B complained to the Council about an area of overgrown bushes. He said the area looked untidy and he asked for the bushes to be removed.
12. The Council said that it could not support the total removal of the shrubbery, but it accepted the need for an improved and sustained maintenance regime. It said that it had agreed with One Trafford for it to carry out a three-stage maintenance schedule. The Council said that One Trafford would carry out the first stage, a mid-seasonal prune, within 14 days and the second stage, a full hard prune, as part of the 2018/19 winter work programme. The third stage was a regular maintenance regime. It said that One Trafford would control weed growth via careful pesticide application and would carry out pruning twice a year.
13. The Council delayed carrying out the agreed actions. It did not carry out the first stage within 14 days and it did not complete the second stage until September 2019. This was fault. The Council has apologised to Mr B for the delays which it says were due to it diverting resources to deal with leaf fall.
14. In relation to the third stage, the Council has provided evidence to show that the area is included on a maintenance programme, but it is not clear if the area is on a twice-yearly pruning schedule.

Area 2

15. In July 2018, Mr B complained about another overgrown area which he said the Council was failing to maintain. Mr B said that it was unsightly, was reducing the light emitted from a street light and during the winter the pavement was covered in slippery leaves.
16. The Council investigated ownership of the area and discovered that it formed part of the adopted highway. In March 2019 it told Mr B that maintenance had been carried out and One Trafford would continue to maintain the area.
17. Mr B then questioned the works that had been carried out. In the Council’s response, it accepted that the maintenance had not been carried out to the standard requested and further works were required. I have not seen any evidence to show that any further works were then carried out, or that the area is included in a maintenance programme. I therefore consider it likely that it has not done so, which is fault.
18. The Council says that leaf clearance of the area was carried out in line with the leaf clearance programme. The evidence the Council has provided shows that the leaves were cleared once, at the end of January 2019. While the Council has not sent me a copy of its leaf clearance programme, the information provided suggests that the programme includes two rounds of leaf clearance. As the leaves were only cleared once, I consider the Council failed to ensure the leaves were cleared in accordance with its leaf clearance programme. This was fault.

Area 3

19. One of the areas which Mr B has complained about relates to shrubs on private land which are overgrown and are obstructing the pavement.
20. One Trafford has written to the owner on at least two occasions. In January 2019, it told the owner to cut back the foliage within 14 days. It explained that it had the power to enforce its removal but would only do so if the owner did not carry out the required works within 14 days.
21. In March 2019, the Council told Mr B that it was making arrangements for the work to be carried out by one of the Council’s contractors by the end of March at the latest. I consider the Council has failed to take any further action. This is fault.

Area 4

22. Mr B has also complained about the Council’s actions after he reported an overgrown verge which was restricting driver visibility. He said that the Council failed to take any action when he reported it in May and June 2018 and then marked the job as complete when it was not. Mr B says that after he complained about it, One Trafford refused to progress the matter.
23. In the Council’s response, it accepted that Mr B had received an inadequate response to his reports. It said that it had re-trained the team and reminded them of the responsibility to provide proper feedback and to seek advice when they may be uncertain as to how to respond. The Council told Mr B that One Trafford had apologised for the poor service he initially received.
24. The Council explained that One Trafford is required to cut the grass verge twice per growing season and said it would continue to maintain the verge twice a year. I note that the schedule provided shows that a cut is planned for each June and January. January is not in the growing season.

Area 5

25. Mr B has also raised concerns about overgrown trees which are reducing the effectiveness of street lights.
26. The Council says that the trees are included in the Council’s 4/5 year cyclical maintenance/inspection programme for tree pruning. It says they last received attention in 2018 and are next due for attention in 2022. The Council says it will also deal with trees on an ad hoc basis when issues are raised. I have not seen any evidence to show the Council has failed to address issues when they have been reported.

Reporting system

27. One Trafford uses a system which allows members of the public to report concerns online. Mr B complains that One Trafford often closes down his reports without taking any action to address his concerns.
28. The Council says that the reports are closed when they are passed to another team, such as when the reports relate to private land, and when works have already been identified for action and are included on a schedule of planned works.
29. The Council says it recognises that the system does not give sufficient information when a service request is closed down and it is in the process of implementing improvements to the system.

Injustice

30. I consider the failings identified in this case have caused Mr B frustration and put him to avoidable time and trouble.

Agreed action

31. Within eight weeks, the Council will:
• develop a process to enable the Council to check, on a regular basis, that One Trafford has completed the works it is required to carry out within the agreed timeframes;
• provide evidence that Area 1 is on a twice-yearly pruning schedule;
• check if any further works are needed to Area 2, and if so, ensures they are completed;
• provide evidence that Area 2 is included in a maintenance programme;
• ensure that the owner of Area 3 clears the obstruction of the pavement or arranges to clear the obstruction itself, if it has not already been cleared;
• amend the schedule for Area 4 to ensure that both cuts are scheduled to be carried out within the growing season; and
• write to Mr B with an update once it has completed these actions.

Back to top

Final decision

32. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mr B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Mr B. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Back to top

Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

33. We will not investigate matters where we consider the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. For this reason, I have not investigated Mr B’s complaints about areas which are not near to his home.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman