Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr D’s complaint about line markings. The matter has now been resolved and further consideration of the complaint would not achieve any more for Mr D.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr D, complains the Council painted a white ‘H-bar’ marking in the wrong place and then took over a year to paint over it. Mr D says this caused confusion to motorists and was graffiti on the highway. Mr D says he has spent a lot of time trying to get the matter resolved.

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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 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 discussed the complaint with Mr D, considered the information he provided and the Council’s response to his complaints.

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What I found

4. The Council initially painted a white ‘H-bar’ marking in front of a neighbour’s raised kerb, rather than in front of Mr D’s property. Mr D considered this was vandalism and graffiti on the highway and complained to the Council.
5. The Council re-painted the ‘H-bar’ in the correct place, but Mr D complains it took too long for it to paint over the incorrectly positioned marking. The Council completed this work last week. Mr D says the Council’s previous attempts to remove or cover the marking had been ineffective and he had to keep complaining.
6. As the Council has painted the ‘H-bar’ in the correct place and has now covered over the incorrect marking as Mr D requested, further consideration of the complaint would not achieve any more for Mr D and the Ombudsman will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr D’s complaint. The matter has been resolved and further consideration of the complaint would not achieve any more for Mr D.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman