The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: There is no evidence of fault by the Council when responding to complaints about noise from a drain in the road outside a complainant’s home. The Council has repaired the drain twice and says that it will repair the drain a third time as it is slightly low in the road. This complaint is not upheld.
The complaint
The complainant, who I shall call Mr X, complains the drain in the highway outside his house continues to cause noise and vibration when heavy vehicles drive over it since it was refitted in December 2021.
Mr X says the noise and vibration disturbs them when they are in the house.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) If we are satisfied with an organisation’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)
How I considered this complaint
I read the papers put in by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him.
I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
Mr X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Key facts The Council resurfaced Mr X’s road in July 2021. In August 2021 the Council received a complaint from Mr X that the double grid to a drain was rattling after resurfacing. Mr X chased up a response twice and made a stage one complaint in October 2021.
Works took place to replace the grid and cover on 7 October 2021. An inspector confirmed the works had been carried out.
Mr X made a stage 2 complaint, as he thought the drain had only had a single grate previously. The Council supplied evidence there had always been a double grate. The Council said on 7 December 2021 that the new grid was not exactly aligned and so further work would be done. The Council said that Mr X responded to say that they had two weeks of peace but the noise then continued.
In response to Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman, the Council said ‘the site has recently been revisited and the frame for the cover is set very slightly low. This means it is possible it might cause noise. This is however the third time that this has been the finding and there is therefore some doubt that this small defect is the true cause of the distress the residents are reporting. The Council is instructing the contractor to re-set the frame to the level of the surrounding surface’.
My analysis Mr X says the new drain is still too low down or not seated correctly. The Council accepts the residents are distressed by noise, however it says it has undertaken two repairs already and is scheduling a third. The Council says ‘the level of defect assessed is very small and there is reasonable doubt that this is causing the level of distress claimed, but the Council has actioned each report in good faith to try resolve the matter’.
Mr X has explained he is annoyed the Council did not fix the drain immediately. The Council has said it considers that it has responded promptly to each of the Mr X’s complaints.
I can understand Mr X wants the problem fixed immediately and that it is frustrating that he has had to complain 3 times about the grate. I can also understand the Council’s view that the drain is not dangerous. And, it is on the other side of the road, with a verge and front garden between it and Mr X’s property. So, I can see that it the Council would not consider it to be an urgent repair.
The Council has responded to Mr X’s requests and repaired the grate each time he has complained. While this may not have been as quickly as he would have liked, as the grate was not unsafe I do not consider the timescales have been unreasonable. So, I do not find fault by the Council. I do, however, understand how frustrating it is to Mr X to keep having to report the problem and hope the repair promised by the Council will resolve the matter.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation of the complaint. This complaint is not upheld as there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman