The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to repair or carry out additional work to an adjoining wall. It is unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s actions and cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is looking for.
The complaint
Mr X was unhappy the Council decide not to repair a wall, that he said was damaged, and for which he believed the Council were liable for. Mr X was worried about the possibility of the wall collapsing and wanted the Council to agree to a shared contribution toward a suitable replacement.
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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(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 I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X asked the Council to consider replacing or repairing a party wall across his boundary, saying he was concerned it may collapse. The Council examined the wall and said it did not consider any additional work was necessary.
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault, given the Council made a decision not to act, after it examined the wall.
In any case, we could not direct the Council to carry out work or contribute to Mr X’s costs, if he decided to carry out work, and so cannot achieve what he is looking for.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is looking for.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman