The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage caused to the complainant’s property by a tree belonging to the Council. This is because we cannot de cide what t he Council should pay towards the repairs as t he c ourts are best p laced to calcul at e cla ims for damages.
I t is therefore reasonable to expect the compl ai nant to go to co urt to resolve h er claim .
The complaint
Miss X complains that her property has suffered property damage due to roots from a tree belonging to the Council. She would like to the tree to be removed so that her boundary wall can be replaced, and her garden made safe for her granddaughter to play in.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate as it is reasonable to expect Miss X to take claim for damages to court. There is a simple procedure in the county court for dealing with small claims.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to go to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman