The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to maintain or prevent obstruction not alleyway land which it says it does not own. It is reasonable for Mrs X to consider a legal remedy to prevent neighbours from parking and obstructing her access over the land.
The complaint
Mrs X says the Council will not take any action to prevent neighbours from parking derelict vehicles in the alleyway land at the rear of her home. She says it should accept responsibility for maintaining the land and ensuring it is accessible.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says the alleyway access land at the rear of her property is being used by neighbours to store and repair untaxed vehicle. This has caused noise and pollution and sometimes obstructed her own access over the land. She asked the Council to take action but it told her that the land is not owned by the Council and is not part of the public highway so it will not take action or erect any signage.
Mrs X says she believes the Council maintained the land when she came to the area 40 years ago and it should act to prevent the area from deteriorating. The Council told her the land use is a civil matter and she would have to take her own legal advice to determine who owns or is responsible for its upkeep and access. She was advised to consult her own property deeds and HM Land Registry to find further information.
The Ombudsman cannot determine the ownership of land or boundaries because these are civil legal matters. Only the courts can determine who owns land if there is a dispute about it. In this case the Council has informed Mrs X that it does not have responsibility for maintaining land which is not part of the public highway system.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to maintain or prevent obstruction not alleyway land which it says it does not own. It is reasonable for Mrs X to consider a legal remedy to prevent neighbours from parking and obstructing her access over the land.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman