Summary: There was fault by the Council in the decision to reduce permits for a car park. This caused avoidable uncertainty. The Council has already offered an appropriate remedy by offering a permit in another car park nearby and a reduction in the fee.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council would not renew his parking permit. He said this caused avoidable inconvenience.

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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’. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

4. I considered the Council’s complaint response, Mr X’s complaint to us and the Council’s response to my enquiries. I discussed the complaint with Mr X.
5. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

6. Mr X’s company had a season ticket for the car park which he tried to renew in December 2022 and could not.
7. Mr X complained to the Council. Its response said that there were capacity issues with the car park and so it had decided to reduce the number of permits (there were more permits than available spaces). It could not authorise an additional permit because the car park was full.
8. The terms and conditions for the car park say a season ticket doesn’t guarantee a space and the Council reserves the right to vary permanently or temporarily the arrangements for parking. Permit holders may renew their permits and late renewals may result in the permit going to another user.

Information from the Council

9. Season tickets are self-servicing and the system for buying one is digital. A customer may purchase a season ticket if there is capacity. The Council can increase or reduce the number of season tickets available and a reduction in availability led to the complaint.
10. The Council reduced permits from 35 to 34 in September 2022. It told me it had done this because it believed a permit holder had vacated a spot and the system was showing only 34 active permits. However, this was incorrect because another permit holder had applied to renew a permit, but this was not showing active on the system because it had been purchased to start a few days later. The Council had not considered the situation that a permit could have been bought, but with a future start date.
11. The Council told me:
• At first it thought the above explanation (paragraph 10) was the reason Mr X could not renew his permit, however its records showed other permit holders successfully renewed at a similar time. It said it had not been able to establish why Mr X’s permit was affected three months after the reduction in capacity. The Council also told me there have been no other similar complaints.
• If a further space becomes available, anyone, including Mr X, can purchase a permit. Any customer can take advantage of this and it had happened in March 2023 when a space came up.
• Existing permit holders can renew up to a month before expiry which means they get priority.
• There is no waiting list because the level of demand means spaces rarely get given up.
• Mr X said another company had managed to get permits since his application had been rejected. However, that company already had permits before the incident occurred (so was able to renew in advance) and companies do change vehicle registrations. At the time of his complaint, no additional new permits had been purchased.
• It had offered a permit at another car park about 250 meters away from Mr X’s office and a two-week discount.

Findings

12. The Council’s terms and conditions are clear that it may vary parking arrangements. We would not regard a decision to reduce the number of permits to be fault in itself. However, we can look at the information the Council considered when it varied the arrangements.
13. There was fault by the Council. When it decided to reduce the number of permits from 35 to 34, it acted on incomplete and therefore inaccurate information that there were only 34 active permits, when there were actually 35 permits if the one in the process of renewal was counted. When making the decision, the Council failed to check whether or not there were any renewals in progress. The Council also cannot say why Mr X’s renewal was affected as opposed to other renewals which took place between September and December 2022.
14. I cannot conclude on a balance of probability that the Council would have made a different decision about removing one permit, had it checked permits in renewal. Information from the Council indicates there were capacity issues in the car park and so it may have made the same decision even with correct information about active permits.
15. However, the fault caused uncertainty. I consider the Council has already taken appropriate action to address this by apologising and offering an alternative permit at another car park. It has also offered a discount. This is an appropriate remedy.
16. Mr X suggests unfairness by the Council in that others have managed to obtain permits since his refusal. However, those renewals are in line with the terms of the scheme which gives priority to existing permit holders who can renew up to a month in advance. Mr X is able to apply for a new permit when one becomes available.

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Final decision

17. There was fault by the Council in the decision to reduce permits for a car park. This caused avoidable uncertainty. The Council has already offered an appropriate remedy by offering a permit in another car park nearby and a reduction in the fee.
18. I completed the investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman