The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a right of way. This is because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken to remedy the upset caused.
The complaint
Dr Y complained the Council threatened her with legal action for blocking a right of way near her home.
Dr Y says this was unjustified as she had not caused the obstruction and caused her distress and worry.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Dr Y and the Council provided, the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.
My assessment
Dr Y complained to the Council in April and May 2022, after it had asked her in March to remove an obstruction from a right of way next to her property, caused by a large amount of horse manure. Dr Y complained about the accusation, saying she had not caused the obstruction and was unable to physically clear it. She was also unhappy that the Council had threatened to serve a notice on her for the clearance of the right of way.
The Council wrote to Dr Y in response to her complaint in July 2022. It agreed that it would discuss the matter with the landowner, but said it had contacted Dr Y as part of its duty to ensure rights of way were kept free from obstruction. It then responded further to the complaint in August, apologising for any offence caused by its initial assumptions of who had been responsible for the obstruction.
Dr Y felt this was insufficient, as the officer who had contacted her had not apologised and she did not think the assumptions the officer had made, that it was her who was responsible for the obstruction because she owned horses, were reasonable. She then contacted us in September 2022.
Analysis While Dr Y may still feel aggrieved at the Council’s actions, the Council has apologised to her for the upset caused by its officer contacting her about the obstruction to the right of way. It is our role to investigate the actions taken by the Council as a whole, rather than to investigate individual officers within the Council or recommend remedies be provided by specific officers. The apology issued by the Council is therefore a proportionate and appropriate remedy to the distress and worry caused to Dr Y and it is in line with our own Guidance on Remedies.
We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. As the Council has already apologised, we are satisfied it has acted to appropriately remedy the injustice caused and will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Dr Y’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken to remedy the upset caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman