Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to take action to resolve parking issues near rental properties she owns. The Council has added the request to its highway database and the matter will now be considered alongside all other requests. The Council has provided Mrs X with details of the process to enable her to ensure the Council gives the matter the correct consideration. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council has handled Mrs X’s request for double yellow lines.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has failed to take action to resolve parking issues near rental properties she owns. In particular, it has not agreed to place double yellow lines in the archway which acts as an entrance to the properties.
2. Mrs X says the parking problems have cause her to lose tenants and struggle to rent out the properties.

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What I have investigated

3. This complaint focusses on the request made by Mrs X in April 2019 for double yellow lines in the archway. I explain at paragraph 20 below why I have not considered other matters.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
• discussed the issues with the complainant;
• sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.

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What I found

8. Mrs X contacted the Council in February 2019 requesting it install double yellow lines in the archway of properties she owns and rents out. Mrs X says there are parking problems in the area due to a local business that was given planning permission in 2014. She says users of this business cause obstructions making it dangerous when her tenants exit their properties through the archway.
9. Mrs X had previously complained about parking issues in 2017. The Council responded to her complaints through its corporate complaints’ procedure at that time. It also provided Mrs X with details of how to complain to the Ombudsman is she was dissatisfied with its response. I have explained why I am not considering matters relating to the 2017 complaint.
10. In response to Mrs X’s request for double yellow lines, the Council wrote to Mrs X on 21 February. It referred to the previous communications in 2017. It said it had not received any complaints directly from the tenants of her properties and that this would be helpful. It said that if parked vehicles obstructing the highway should be reported to the police. It said her request for double yellow lines had been passed to the highway department.
11. Mrs X contacted the Council again and her complaint progressed to stage two. The Council responded to Mrs X on 22 May. This letter provided more detail of the informal action taken by the Council in 2017. It explained it met with the owner of the local business and produced a map of suitable local parking locations which was sent to all customers. The Council also wrote to local residents explaining what it had done and how to complain about parking problems.
12. It provided a more detailed explanation of the process for implementing new parking restrictions. It said it has a system to ensure the money in the highway budget is spent on areas of most need. It explained that throughout the year it compiles a database of complaints and once a year sends this to the relevant councillor for comments. Each councillor then sends back information about their top priorities. The Council scores this against the Local Transport Plan criteria and produces a draft programme. This draft programme is then considered by the appropriate committee and funding is approved for the beginning of the financial year.
13. It said that in 2017, local councillors were involved with the informal discussions about the local business and associated parking problems. It said that none of the local councillors has included this area as a top priority for spending.
14. It said Mrs X’s request for double yellow lines under the archway has been added to the database and so will be considered through the highway spending process. It said that while indiscriminate parking may cause inconvenience, given the relatively slow speeds at the local due to the road layout, it did not consider this to be a significant road safety issue.

Analysis

15. I am aware that Mrs X first raised issues with parking near her rental properties in 2017. Mrs X did not pursue any unresolved issues at that time. Any complaint about issues from 2017 is now late and outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. I have seen nothing which persuades me I should exercise discretion to now investigate this late complaint.
16. In 2019, Mrs X did contact the Council and request it install double yellow lines in the archway leading to her rental properties. She says the parking problems continue and that this would ensure her tenants safe movement from the properties.
17. I consider the Council has provided a satisfactory response to her request. It has provided a detailed explanation of the process for highway spending. Her request is now included on the database. Any complaints received will be added to the database. It is also open to her and her tenants to contact local councillors about the parking issues to highlight them. This could influence which issues they raise as top priorities for the next financial year.
18. I can understand that Mrs X would like the Council to take action but I cannot conclude it has ignored her request or that there is fault in its decision. It has a clear process for prioritising highway spending requests and this matter is now included. As with all decisions, the Council will have to use its professional judgement on whether formal action is required to manage the parking issues. It has given Mrs X its view, based on the current information, that it is not a significant safety issue. I appreciate Mrs X may not agree with the Council’s view, but there is no evidence of fault by the Council in how it has dealt with the request for double yellow lines.

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Final decision

19. I will now complete my investigation as there is no evidence of fault in this case.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

20. Mrs X complained to the Council in 2017 about the parking problems at her rental properties. The Council took informal action at that time and gave details of how to complain to the Ombudsman if Mrs X was dissatisfied. Mrs X did not complain to the Ombudsman. Any issues Mrs X had about the way the Council considered her complaints or the action taken should have been pursued in 2017. We have not exercised discretion to look at these matters which are now considered a late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman