Ards Borough Council is one of 26 local authorities in Northern Ireland. It covers 140 square miles and has a population in the region of 70,000.

The Council has a range of responsibilities from refuse collection, street cleaning and waste disposal to licensing, economic development, environmental health, leisure and tourism development. Whatever the service, our aim is to maintain high standards and to be efficient, effective and economical at all times.

A commitment to quality means that complaints and suggestions from our customers are welcome. If you tell us what has gone wrong, we can take action to put it right, so if you feel that standards have not been met, we would like to know. Your comments will help us improve our services. A form is provided if you would like to make a comment, suggestion or complaint.

Your Right to Complain

If you are not satisfied with any of the Council's services or actions you have a right to complain. You can make a complaint verbally or in writing. Each complaint is dealt with by the department concerned.

Verbal Complaint

If you complain verbally, our staff will try to resolve your complaint immediately. If this is not possible, a member of staff will take the details and respond within 10 working days.

Written Complaint

If you complain in writing, your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days and a response given within 10 working days.

If your complaint cannot be resolve within that time we will contact you to explain the delay. Our target time for a response will then be one month.

If you are not happy with the department's response you can complain to the Town Clerkand Chief Executive who will investigate your complaint further.

What Happens If You Are Still Not Happy?

If you are still not happy you can refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Ombudsman at:

Freepost
Belfast
BT1 6BR

Tel: 0800 34 34 24

The Ombudsman is independent of the Council

If you would like to make a complaint, please contact the relevant Department at:

Ards Borough Council
2 Church Street
Newtownards
BT23 4AP

If you have a comment about our web site or about our services in general, we would like to hear from you. Simply fill in the form below and click on the 'send' button at the end of the form.