The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to act on his report of fly-tipping by his neighbour. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council delayed in responding to his concerns about fly-tipping by his neighbour and failed to properly deal with his complaints about the issue.
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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has explained to Mr X that because his neighbour has allegedly fly-tipped on his land, rather than public land, the issue is a private civil matter between Mr X and his neighbour. Mr X disputes the Council’s position and claims his neighbour’s actions amount to a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 but the Council does not agree. This is because it says the waste he claims was deposited on his land is not “controlled waste”. I have seen nothing to contradict the Council’s position on this point and no evidence of fault in the way it reached its decision; it is therefore unlikely we could question it.
In any event, the injustice Mr X claims, which relates to his need to dispose of the waste deposited on his land, is neither significant nor the result of the Council’s actions, whether they amount to fault or not. It was Mr X’s neighbour who allegedly disposed of the waste onto Mr X’s land and his remedy for the issue lies in a claim against them rather than a complaint about the Council.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman