Summary: Miss X complains about the Council allowing the closure of two roads for road works which she considers caused a loss of income to her business. The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation as it is reasonable to expect Miss X to go to court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council allowed the closure of two roads for road works and temporary traffic lights in another road. Miss X says the road works caused her business to lose income as she and clients could not access her business.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have:

• Considered the complaint and the information provided by Miss X;
• Discussed the issues with Miss X;
• Invited Miss X and the Council to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. Miss X runs a business. In summer 2019 the Council approved the closure of two roads for road works and the installation of temporary traffic lights on another road. The road closures and roadworks were for a period of approximately four to five weeks.
5. Miss X complained to the Council as she thought the roadworks were causing traffic chaos and preventing her from running her business. She considered the Council should compensate for the loss of business. The Council considered Miss X’s complaint through its two stage complaints procedure. The Council partially upheld Miss X’s complaint at stage two. It said the Council could have discharged its duty more appropriately by staggering the road closures so the roads were not closed simultaneously. The Council apologised for the inconvenience and frustration Miss X experienced during the period of road closures and temporary traffic lights. The Council said a claim for compensation was outside the remit of the complaints procedure. It provided details of a form for Miss X to complete to make a claim for compensation. This was an incident form for reporting damage to a vehicle.
6. Miss X sent an email to the Council asking it to consider her claim for compensation and advising the claim for was for damage to vehicles. The Council advised Miss X it had no further comment to make on her complaint.
7. Miss X has said the Council has now offered a payment of £500 to her. She is seeking a full apology as she considers she was badly treated by the Council and compensating for loss of income.

My assessment

8. I understand Miss X considers the Council’s offer of £500 to be insufficient to remedy the loss of income which she considers was caused by the roadworks. However, I do not consider I should investigate the complaint any further. I am mindful the Council has acknowledged it could have staggered the road closures. But I do not consider we could determine if this directly caused the loss of income claimed by Miss X. As Miss X’s complaint is about financial loss and she is seeking compensation, I consider it is reasonable to expect Miss X to go to court.
9. I have therefore discontinued my investigation.

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Final decision

10. I have discontinued my investigation as it is reasonable to expect Miss X to go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman