Essex County Council (19 004 584)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 12-Aug-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s response to his report of a faulty streetlight near his home. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which has caused significant injustice to warrant an investigation.

London Borough of Barnet (18 016 464)

Statement Upheld Street furniture and lighting 05-Aug-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman found some fault by the Council on Miss L’s complaint about its decision to relocate a bus stop outside of her house. While it properly carried out consultation, it failed to tell residents affected of its decision to implement the proposal. As Miss L did not own the house at the time of the consultation, the first she knew about it was when contractors started work outside. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (18 017 299)

Statement Upheld Street furniture and lighting 29-Jul-2019

Summary: The Council failed to make written records about its decision to move footpath barriers closer to Ms X’s home. The failure to keep records did not affect the Council’s decision to move the barriers or, therefore, the position Ms X found herself in. The Council agreed to review its practices for keeping written records of its decisions.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (19 003 530)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 24-Jul-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint that the Council delayed repairing a street light, failed to explain the delay and failed to respond to his complaint about the matter. This is because the injustice caused to Mr A is not so significant as to warrant the Ombudsman’s intervention.

Central Bedfordshire Council (19 003 536)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 22-Jul-2019

Summary: Ms B complains the Council’s delay in fixing a streetlight led to her home being burgled. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because the Council cannot reasonably be held responsible for the claimed loss and Ms B can take the matter to court if she wishes to pursue her claim.

Sheffield City Council (19 003 153)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 10-Jul-2019

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council siting a pedestrian crossing signal on the footway close to his driveway. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Hampshire County Council (19 002 922)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 05-Jul-2019

Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s decision to introduce part-night lighting in his area. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

Slough Borough Council (19 002 035)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 25-Jun-2019

Summary: Mr B complains about the positioning of a bus stop near his property which is affecting his ability to access his property. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

Worcestershire County Council (19 000 720)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Street furniture and lighting 19-Jun-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about inadequate and faulty lighting in underpasses near his home. Further consideration of the complaint is unlikely to find fault by the Council or achieve any more for Mr B.

Sheffield City Council (18 014 180)

Statement Upheld Street furniture and lighting 13-Jun-2019

Summary: Mr X complains about high levels of light intrusion from a street lamp positioned outside his mother’s (Mrs Y’s) property. He says this causes her distress. He also complains about delays in the Council’s complaints process. The Council took appropriate action to reduce the level of light intrusion to within the recommended limits. However, there was some delay within the process. It has agreed to apologise to Mr X and his mother for the delay and pay Mrs Y £150 to acknowledge the distress caused.