Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council introducing an hourly fee to use some of its tennis courts. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault in the way the Council made its decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr A, complains about the Council’s decision to introduce a fee of £5 per hour to use some of its tennis courts. Mr A feels this is unnecessarily high when compared to other boroughs and is not justifiable by the Council’s claim it will use the fee towards maintenance and other costs.
2. Mr A feels the Council ought to remove the fee.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. 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 that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr A and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr A has explained he is a frequent tennis player and the new fees are likely to cost him hundreds of pounds over the course of a year. He has said other boroughs have better facilities available for a much more reasonable flat rate and the tennis courts have been largely unused since the introduction of the fee.
7. The Council says it decided to introduce the fee so it can cover maintenance costs and continue offering tennis facilities. This is a decision it was entitled to make.
8. The Council also says, if Mr A does not want to incur its fees, he can play at other facilities.
9. Whilst it is frustrating for Mr A that the Council has introduced fees to use his preferred tennis courts, there is no obligation on him to pay these. There are other free tennis facilities listed on the Council website which he could use.

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Final decision

10. I have decided we should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is nothing to suggest fault in how the Council decided to introduce the fee. Further, Mr A has not suffered a significant injustice as he is not obliged to pay the fee.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman