Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council preventing her from parking on the grass verge and driving on the footway near her home. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The Complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about the Council preventing her from parking on the grass verge next to her home. She says she has no off-street parking, and this causes inconvenience for washing her car and taking shopping into the house. The Council has now erected bollards to prevent householders from parking on the verge or driving over the footway.

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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 Mrs X submitted with her complaint.

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What I found

4. The Council told Mrs X to stop parking on the grass verge or driving on the footway near her home because she was causing damage to the grass and possibly to services underneath it. The Council told her she is breaching the Highways Act 1980 and that it could take legal action if she continued to commit the offence.
5. Recently the Council has constructed bollards to prevent cars from accessing the grass verge. Mrs X says she is now unable to access her property with her car.
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. In this case there is no fault by the Council, and it is carrying out its duties as highway authority by preventing illegal access to highway land. Mrs X could apply for a vehicle crossing if it is appropriate in this situation.

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Final decision

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

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman