West Sussex County Council (21 008 467)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Nov 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to grant permission for a Vehicle Crossover. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify our involvement.
The complaint
- Ms X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse an application for a joint Vehicle Crossover (VCO) in front of her and her neighbour’s home.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
- The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.
My assessment
- Ms X and her neighbour applied for a VCO between their two properties. The Council refused their application and dismissed their appeal.
- The Council’s VCO policy says that any grassed area can be an amenity area. It says that it is likely to refuse requests to cross or sever large grass amenity areas. The policy also says historic VCOs cannot be used as mitigation.
- The Council said it refused the application because the grassed area in front of Ms X and her neighbour’s property is considered an amenity area.
- We will not investigate this complaint because the Council’s decision to reject the VCO is consistent with the policy. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman