The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council accusing the complainant of obstructing highway land. The Council has apologised for its error and confirmed it has corrected its records. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr B says the Council failed to consult him before sending a letter requiring him to remove a fence and buildings which it believed were within the adopted highway.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
On receiving the letter from the Council, Mr B says he provided further evidence to Officers who attended a meeting at his home. Following this meeting the Council confirmed it made further checks. It told Mr B its highway adoption record was wrong. It apologised for this error and confirmed its records have been corrected.
I understand Mr B found this matter distressing and wants to know what information the Council considered before writing to him. He is concerned about what would have happened if he had not provided more evidence. However, the Council has apologised for the error and corrected its records. No further action was taken. I consider that it would not be a good use of public funds to investigate further when this is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because we believe further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman