Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the location of a streetlight. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council decided a streetlight doesn’t obstruct the use of his driveway. He says he disagrees with the Council’s safety inspection and says the Council incorrectly applied the law.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X says the placement of a streetlamp makes it difficult to leave his driveway safely.
7. The Council inspected the streetlamp and decided it does not obscure the field of vision or cause a safety issue that required the streetlamp to be moved. The Council did identify obstruction provided by vegetation and said it would prune it back.
8. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation has followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, even if someone disagrees with it.
9. I have considered the guidance on carrying out visibility spays, which includes what would count as an obstruction or not and am satisfied with the Council’s assessment of the streetlight. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council’s processes here to justify investigating.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman