The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about flooding outside Mrs X’s property. This is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. In addition, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about flooding on her road. She says the gullies owned by the Council are causing the flooding and the Council has taken too long to resolve matters.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has told Mrs X that the private ditches are the responsibility of the riparian owners. It said it is entitled to discharge water from the public highway into private ditches, but it has no responsibility for their maintenance.
The Council completed a drainage investigation in January 2021, which found a newly constructed wall at Mrs X’s neighbour’s property may have blocked and partially damaged the outfall of the drainage system. The Council’s enforcement team followed this up and was told the outfall had been repaired.
The Council also noted Mrs X’s other neighbour appeared to have filled their ditch in between 2018 and 2021. The Council accepted it had delayed in discussing this with the neighbour, but that enforcement talks were now in progress.
The Council is due to inspect the ditches this month to decide whether the matter is resolved or if there is another cause to the flooding. Therefore, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome as the Council has taken appropriate action to address the suspected problem with the riparian owners of the ditches.
Further, the Council told Mr X it had appropriately cleaned and cleared the gullies it was responsible for outside her property. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence of fault here as the Council has maintained the gullies it is responsible for.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. In addition, there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman