The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to the complainant’s request for work to a highway tree. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part to warrant investigation.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council has unreasonably refused her request to reduce the height of a highway tree.
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 and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X’s complaint concerns a highway tree close to her property. She says the tree is too tall for its location. She says it drops debris onto her property, has caused damage to neighbouring properties and may potentially damage her own. She has asked the Council to carry out crown reduction work and complains that it has not done so.
The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. It is not for us to take a view on whether crown reduction is appropriate. That is a matter for the professional judgement of the Council. The question for the Ombudsman is whether there is evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision not to carry out the work.
The correspondence Mrs X has provided shows that the Council has set out that it has seen nothing to suggest that the tree is causing damage or requires work. There is no evidence that the Council was at fault in how it reached this view. That being the case, we cannot intervene to criticise the decision or substitute an alternative view.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman