The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about maintaining a grass verge. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the way the Council maintains a grass verge outside his home. He says the Council uses a ride-on mower which makes a mess and churns up the ground. Mr X wants the Council to stop making a mess and tarmac the area.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and photographs of the verge provided by the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council cut the grass verge outside Mr X’s home. Mr X complained to the Council that the work had created a muddy mess and churned up the grass. He said he spent an hour clearing up and the grass which had not needed cutting. Mr X said he complained about the same issue last year and was told the Council would do a better job. Mr X asked the Council to pave the area.
The Council said it had given Mr X the opportunity to take over responsibility for the grass cutting. It said it would try to do the work to a high standard but it can be difficult in wet weather. It said it would monitor the work. The Council said it only tarmacs a verge if there are safety issues.
I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council said it will monitor and do all it can to do the work to a good standard; it also explained this can be difficult in wet conditions. It considered Mr X’s request to pave the area and explained why it did not agree to the request. There is nothing in the Council’s response to suggest we need to start an investigation and it is not wrong for a council to decline to do something requested by a resident. I have looked at photographs and they show a small area of grass verge in an average condition.
I also will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. I appreciate Mr X thinks the condition of the grass was unsatisfactory after the cut and he spent time clearing up, but this does not represent a degree of injustice requiring an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman