The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s lack of actions in relation to a tree outside his property which is causing damage to his property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and a further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s lack of actions in relation to a tree outside his property which is causing damage to his property. He said he is consistently cleaning up the falling leaves and debris which falls onto his property and it is causing him distress as well as negatively affecting his physical health. Mr X also said the tree is causing a mess on the street. He wants the Council to cut back the tree and regularly clean the street.
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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X said a tree outside his property is causing damage to his property. He said the falling leaves and debris are blocking his drainpipes, causing damp to the inner walls of his property, damaging the cars and the driveway. He also said the tree is causing a mess on his street. He asked the Council to cut back the tree and regularly clean the street.
The Council responded to Mr X and said: it had planned to carry out an inspection of trees within specific areas including the tree Mr X complained of towards the end of 2025. It said the inspection would determine whether the Council was required to take action including cutting back trees. The Council made Mr X aware unforeseen priorities and weather conditions could affect the scheduled inspections; and it regularly maintained street cleaning but it was not able to increase the frequency of street cleaning due to financial constraints.
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the Council has explained to Mr X it has planned an inspection of trees within the area which will confirm whether it needs to carry out work on the trees. This is appropriate. The Council has also told Mr X it regularly keeps the street clean but cannot increase the frequency of doing so which is also appropriate. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. A further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and a further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman