Decision report 201100488

Summary
Mr C complained to the council in May 2010 about their failure to clear snow from his road for a period of about four weeks from late December 2009. His complaint culminated in a letter from the chief executive in August 2010 which said that the council were in the process of reviewing their winter maintenance plans to enable them to treat more roads at an earlier stage.

In December 2010 Mr C sent an email to the chief executive to say that snow had fallen on his road for six consecutive days but no effort had been made to clear it. Mr C's letter was passed to the Roads Department who told Mr C they were working through the roads on a prioritised basis and would get to all areas as soon as possible when weather and resources permitted. They provided details of where he could get further information. Mr C complained to us that snow clearing in his road did not appear to have improved from the previous year. He also complained about how the council dealt with his email to the chief executive.

As part of our investigation, the council provided us with a copy of their new Winter Service Plan which indicated the priority of roads in Mr C's area in accordance with best practice guidance. Mr C's email had been passed to the Roads Department for them to advise him of the position. We did not uphold Mr C's complaints as we found that the council had acted appropriately in this case.