The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council destroying his plants by spraying his boundary wall with weedkiller. This is because we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council unnecessarily destroyed his plants while treating weeds on the public highway. He says this ruined the appearance of his property and will take several years to rectify.
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 Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
While Mr X believes the Council was wrong to spray his plants as they were planted in his wall, the Council has explained the legal basis for its actions and the reasons it decided they were necessary. We are not an appeal body and it is not for us to question the Council’s professional judgement on this point, or to decide whether its actions were legal. In any event, the Council has offered to replace the plants as a gesture of goodwill and this provides a suitable remedy for Mr X.
Mr X wants the Council to agree never to spray his boundary wall again but this is not an outcome we could achieve. The Council will make a decision on what action is necessary to protect the highway on the circumstances at the time and the law does not allow us to limit the options available to it under the relevant legislation.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman