The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an overgrown path because the problem has been resolved.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complained about a path that had not been maintained and was obstructed by overgrown vegetation and grass. Mrs X wants the Council to cut the grass and clear the path.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. I spoke to Mrs X who confirmed the path has been cleared. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
There is a path near Mrs X’s home which had become very overgrown. Mrs X is a council tenant and it appears the path used to be maintained by the housing service. The housing service decided the path should be maintained by a different service (public realm) but it appears something went wrong in the transfer of the work to a different department.
The public realm team has now accepted responsibility for the path and added it to the maintenance schedule. It has cut the vegetation and cleared the path.
Mrs X is happy with the outcome and says the problem has been resolved. The Council will explore what went wrong to prevent the problem being repeated.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because the problem has been resolved and the Council will take steps to improve its service.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman