Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council implemented works at a roundabout near his home. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the time taken by the Council to carry out improvement works at a roundabout near his home and that the scheme implemented fails to protect the grass verges surrounding the roundabout. He says this means vehicles continue to mount the grass verges adjacent to his property making deep, unsafe ruts which he might trip over.

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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
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Mr X and the Council. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what he said.

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What I found

4. In 2017 Mr X contacted the Council with his concerns about vehicles coming off a nearby roundabout and mounting the grass verges adjacent to his property, making deep, unsafe ruts in the verge. The Council told Mr X that work would be undertaken in relation to the roundabout but it did not progress matters.
5. In 2019 Mr X raised the matter again with the Council, complaining about the lack of progress since he had first reported it.
6. The Council responded to his complaint by acknowledging that errors, miscommunication and inaction had led to unreasonable delay in it progressing the works at the roundabout. It noted that work to install 5 wooden posts and edging on the roundabout and verge could have been completed earlier. It apologised to Mr X for its significant delays in getting the work done and made recommendations for improved team co-ordination to ensure timely action in future cases.
7. The Council completed the above-mentioned work in July 2019 but Mr X says damage to the verges continues and the Council will not take any further action to address it.

Assessment

8. Following its investigation of the concerns Mr X had raised, the Council decided on a more limited scope of works for the roundabout site than Mr X had hoped for. It had considered other options to deal with the issues related to the roundabout but decided they were prohibitively expensive, possibly involving the relocation of utility apparatus at the site. While this is disappointing for Mr X, it is the Council’s role to decide what works are appropriate and the Ombudsman cannot review the merits of its decisions.
9. The Council has acknowledged its failings and delay in dealing with this matter but it has now completed the planned work, apologised to Mr X and made appropriate recommendations to avoid such problems occurring in the future. Given this, and the limited personal injustice caused to Mr X by the state of the verges, I do not consider the Ombudsman should investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we can add to the investigation already carried out by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman