The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to undertake work on a footpath. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council did not complete work to fix a footpath he said was a known safety hazard. He said the Council’s decision left him at risk. He wants the Council to make the footpath safe.
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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X requested the Council repair a local access footpath. He complained after the Council refused to complete any repairs.
In its response, the Council said the footpath was inspected annually and was last inspected in June 2025. It said as part of the inspection several defects were identified and repaired.
The Council said following Mr X’s complaint it completed an ad-hoc inspection, which was reviewed by a manager. He confirmed no actionable defects were present, but said the Council would consider resurfacing the footway in the next financial year.
We will not investigate this complaint. The Council responded to Mr X’s concerns, completed an inspection and explained why it would not complete work on the footpath. The Council said it would consider the footway for resurfacing in the next financial year. There is not enough evidence off fault to justify the Ombudsman’s involvement.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman