Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to issue a Community Protection Notice following a warning letter issued to residents in 2020. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to issue a Community Protection Notice against his neighbour following the issue of a written warning to all the residents involved in a parking dispute by neighbours.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X says the Council served a Community Protection Notice (CPN) warning on him and residents who were involved in a parking dispute following the introduction of double yellow lines which restricted parking availability. He believes his neighbour has breached the restrictions imposed in the warning letter and that the Council should serve a CPN on them.
7. The Council told him that the warning was issued to all residents involved because they were making numerous malicious reports to the Police about each other and that this amounted to anti-social behaviour with malicious intent. The warning was intended to limit the unwarranted use of Police time about a neighbour dispute.
8. The Council told Mr X that since the warning was issued there had been no further complaints involving the Police. It also told him the limited evidence which he provided about parking obstruction were insufficient to warrant the serving of a Notice. A CPN is a serious sanction under The Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 which is criminal law. It also carries a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court which a Council is expected to consider before progressing to such action.
9. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to issue a Community Protection Notice following a warning letter issued to residents in 2020. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman