Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take any action over traffic noise and vibration on a nearby A-road which is affecting his home. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council failing to take action over an uneven road surface which is causing excessive traffic noise and vibration to his home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Mr X submitted with his complaint and he has commented on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X lives next to an A-road which carries a substantial amount of daily traffic. He says the road surface undulates and the Council replaced a low-noise surface with standard chippings in recent times. He says that the new surface plus depressions around service covers causes serious vibration in his home from traffic using it.
5. Mr X complained to the Council about the noise levels. It told him that it had inspected the surface and that there were no defects which would warrant further work. Mr X wants the Council to carry out vibration tests in his home to show the extent of the problem. The Council says it has no equipment to do so. The Council is only responsible for the maintenance of the highway for highway users. Council’s cannot investigate complaints about traffic noise or vibration because this is exempted from statutory nuisance definitions in the legislation.
6. 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.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman