Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to make changes to the procedure for road closures which it agreed following a complaint. We will not investigate this complaint. It is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome. And we do not consider that Mr X has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants our involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr X, says the Council has failed to make changes to the procedure for road closures which it agreed following a complaint.
2. Mr X says the road closures made it difficult for him to attend his livestock. He wants the Council to be transparent, follow its rules and engage with residents before closing roads.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement
• 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

4. I considered the information provided by Mr X and the Council.

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What I found

5. Mr X complained to the Council about the closure of a road near his home for a cycling event. The Council investigated the complaint. In February 2020 it agreed to:
• review the guidance on street parties and events
• ensure it prevents changes to documentation provided to road closure applicants
• fully appraise event organisers of their responsibilities for publicity and advertising
• require event organisers to provide evidence that necessary publicity has taken place
• ensure all Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) are viewable online
6. In August Mr X complained to the Council about road closures for social distancing measures created in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Council declined to investigate the complaint further as it believed Mr X was raising the same complaint as before. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman.
7. In response to my enquiries the Council confirmed it has reviewed the entire TTRO process together and developed an online application and payment process.
8. It also says it has made the following changes:
• There is a shared inbox for the TTRO teams so applications will not be missed if individuals are absent
• applications will be checked before offering road space and granting the permit
• any permitted closure is recorded, and a diversion plotted on One.Network (a national platform)
• a log is kept of each application’s status. Emergency Notices are logged retrospectively.
• according to legislation if a second event is to be held on the same section of road in the same calendar year, permission will be sought from the Secretary of State
• although legislation for TTROs does not require formal consultation, letter drops and advanced warning boards are used. If the event affects major routes, then it is advertised in the newspaper. The Template has been amended to prevent the document from auto-updating; and
• all documents from the Council will include the Council logo and contact details
9. The Council decided not to place TTROs on its website as this would result in more than 3,000 documents being live at any one time. However, permanent TROs are published.

Assessment

10. Mr X told me he must make regular checks on a flock of birds. When a particular road close to his home is closed, he would have to leave home before 6am or wait until 10.30am to ensure he can get back. He says he cannot park elsewhere as all roads have parking restrictions.
11. I accept this is inconvenient, but I do not consider it to be a significant personal injustice which warrants investigation.
12. The Council has completed the review as stated in its response to Mr X’s first complaint. It has made changes to the procedure where necessary in keeping with legislation. It has also advised that it may make further changes following the outcome of a national consultation undertaken by the Government which is considering other ways of advertising orders.

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Final decision

13. I will not investigate this complaint. It is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome as the Council has carried out the review of the TTRO process and made necessary changes. Also, I do not consider that Mr X has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman