The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to carry out any cleaning to a road near Mr X’s property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s failure to carry out any cleaning to a road near his property. He says because of this, road conditions are dangerous and his car is always covered in mud which causes skidding. Mr X wants the Council to clean the road properly.
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, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council said it put additional measures in place to ensure the road was cleaned. It accepted one additional cleanse did not take place in 2025, apologised, and said it had addressed this with the relevant team. Mr X remained unhappy with the cleanse carried out in January 2026. However, the Council explained the effectiveness of the cleaning was affected by the condition of the road, including rainfall, potholes and uneven surfaces, which meant the area quickly became muddy again.
The Council agreed to contact the authority responsible for maintaining the surfacing issues to see what action it was taking. It also arranged a further deep cleanse to take place towards the end of April 2026. There is insufficient fault by the Council. In any event, if we were to investigate, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman