Patrick Commissioners lack of gully emptying found to be a service failure by TCA

Maladministration also recorded for how authority handled complaint lasting three years

A lack of gully emptying and highway maintenance by Patrick Commissioners has been found to be a service failure by the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration.

And the handling of a complaint, spanning three years, also amounted to maladministration.

The TCA was asked to investigate following issues the complainant had after buying a house in a flood risk zone in March 2020.

The individual, who remains anonymous, had been emptying the gullies on the road since then.

The report carried out by TCA Paul Beckett investigated whether the authority is bound to do this under the ‘Delegation of Functions’ agreement as part of the Highways Act.

In 2021 the resident started emailing the local authority about gullies lying unemptied on the road because they believed this to be a flood risk.

In an email to the commissioners the complainant said there was a ‘lackadaisical’ approach and ‘negligence’ on their part which had resulted in an ‘unacceptable’ state of disrepair that ‘jeopardises’ the safety and wellbeing of the community.

The complainant asked if Mr Beckett would investigate ‘incompetence and neglect’ in public office.

A series of emails were sent to the commissioners, the highway services division of the Department of Infrastructure, and its two ministers over the three years, by the complainant.

The resident told Mr Beckett that the actions of the local authority’s handling of the complaint were, at best, ‘incompetent’ and, at worst, ‘institutional corruption’.

They also attended a public meeting in February to try and get the complaint upheld and gully emptying work carried out – which when brought up to the board, the response from the chair was ‘oh’.

Mr Beckett’s report says that following the resignation of three board members the resident had asked for the current chair to investigate the previous board for their poor governance.

However they said there would be ‘nothing to gain’ from doing this and declined.

Mr Beckett concluded that Patrick Commissioners had ‘failed’ to carry out its duty to empty the gullies. 

Mr Beckett says these are carried out on an ‘ad hoc basis’, and there is no schedule for maintenance, evidenced from meeting minutes – which contravenes the agreement in place.

It was also judged that the commissioners are ‘reactive’ in their approach to weed killing, maintenance of highway verges and street sweeping - which Mr Beckett also deemed a service failure.

He said that the ‘failure’ on the part of the commissioners to respond appropriately to emails shows ‘inattention, discourtesy and lack of respect’.

As a result, he concluded that the local authority was at fault of maladministration as well.

Patrick Commissioners has been contacted for comment.

You can read the report in full HERE.