Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse a parking permit. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to cancel his eligibility to have a resident’s parking permit following his move to a temporary address whilst work is carried out to his home. He says he has only moved for 6 months and wishes to retain his permit to park outside his home which he considers as his main residence.

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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 the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X informed the Council that he was moving out of his home to enable building work to take place. He applied to have his resident’s parking permit renewed after contacting a local councillor but this was refused. The Council told him that if he was not using his home as his main residence then he was ineligible for a permit under its scheme.
6. Mr X says he wants to carry on parking his car at his home because there is no on-street parking at his new address which is in a different parking zone. The Council told him that he should surrender his permit and it will not issue a new one until he returns because it no longer refers to his main residence.
7. Mr X argued that the new permit would not increase parking and he intends to move back into his home when work is complete in six months. The Council told him to apply for a permit in the zone where he now lives, even if this is less convenient.
8. There is no statutory definition of main residence which would apply to a parking scheme. The Council says householders have to be resident to be eligible for a permit. Some house owners may own several properties but they are only eligible for one permit for their main home.
9. The Council is the highway authority and it operates the permit scheme. It has given fair consideration to Mr X’s requests but there is no fault in its decision to apply the scheme requirements as it understands it.
10. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse a parking permit. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman