Complaints and feedback

This page is for anyone who would like to make a formal complaint about a council service. 

A formal complaint is for when you feel a council service has not been provided properly or you are unhappy with how it has been handled.

This process is not for reporting a problem for the first time or asking for a service. 

You can report an issue online, for example a missed bin collection or a fly tip, request a repair or tell us about a problem with a neighbour.

If you have been in contact with us recently and are awaiting a response, please allow five working days for us to get back to you.

Complain online

Our preferred way is for you to fill out our online form.

Start now

Complain by email, telephone or post

Email: comments@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01636 650 000

Newark and Sherwood District Council
Castle House
Great North Road
Newark
Notts
NG24 1BY

How to write a complaint

We have put together some guidance on what to include in your complaint.

Make a complaint in-person

You can make a complaint in-person, or via someone working on your behalf by visiting us at the address below.

Complaints process

There are two stages to the handling of a complaint.

Stage 1 

When submitting a complaint, you will receive notification by either an automated email or letter informing you that the officer who is investigating your complaint will contact you within five working days.

Within these five working days, the investigating officer will issue an acknowledgement email or letter which will include the details of the complaint and the outcome requested. This is known as the “complaint definition”.

The officer will conduct a thorough investigation of your complaint and provide a response directly to complainant within ten working days, from the date when the five-day acknowledgement was issued.

Where it is not possible to respond within these times, we will contact you and advise you of an estimated date of response, which will not exceed a further ten working days without good reason.

Stage 2

If you are not happy with your Stage 1 response, you can request it progresses to Stage 2.

To find out more about what to do if you are unhappy with our initial response, visit: If you are unhappy with how we respond to your complaint.

Reasonable adjustments

When handling comments we will review them against our reasonable adjustment policy, which outlines what a reasonable adjustment is and how we will action these requests when received. This is to ensure we are compliant with Equality and Diversity legislation and regulations.

Reasonable adjustments policy