Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse to issue her with a physical parking permit for one of its car parks. Ms X also complained about the Council’s parking policy. There was no fault in the Council’s decision-making.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse to issue her with a physical parking permit for one of its car parks.
2. Ms X would like a physical parking permit linked to her address so she can give it to the guests of her holiday let properties. Currently the Council will only issue digital parking permits for its car parks, and they must be linked to a specific vehicle.
3. Ms X also complained about the Council’s parking policy. Ms X’s holiday let properties are located just outside two residents’ parking zones. Holiday let businesses within residents’ parking zones can apply for a physical parking permit linked to the address, not to a specific vehicle. Ms X said the Council’s policy unfairly excludes holiday let businesses which are not situated within residents’ parking zones.
4. Ms X said the lack of parking is affecting her business. She has lost out on business and had to lower her prices compared to nearby holiday lets with parking.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. 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 how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
6. 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

7. As part of the investigation, I considered the complaint and the information Ms X provided.
8. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
9. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

The Council’s policies on parking

Business permits

10. Businesses in most residential parking zones can ask for a business parking permit. This is for staff or visitors who need to park close to the place of work.
11. Standard business parking permits are digital and specific to a particular vehicle.
12. However, holiday let businesses can also ask for a parking permit for their guests.
13. The Council can issue holiday let business permits digitally or as a paper permit.
14. The physical, paper holiday let business permit is not specific to a particular vehicle, whereas the digital one is.

Season tickets

15. If someone needs to regularly park in a Council car park, they can ask for a season ticket. Season tickets allow monthly or annual parking in several Council car parks.
16. Season tickets are a digital parking permit which are specific to a particular vehicle. The Council does not issue physical season ticket parking permits.

What happened

17. Ms X completed a ‘have your say’ form on the Council’s website in April 2023. She explained she struggled to find private parking for her holiday lets. She said free parking is a selling point and she would like to buy a season ticket. However, she understood they are vehicle specific, meaning she would need to change the registration details for each guest. Ms X uses an agent to manage her holiday lets and she worried errors could occur. She said she the Council told her it cannot issue a physical permit and she does not qualify for a holiday let permit, as her holiday lets are not in a residential parking zone. She said this was unfair.
18. The Council treated Ms X’s query as a grade two complaint, meaning it sent a response from a senior manager.
19. The Council told Ms X its parking permit policy states it runs a digital permit system where the season ticket is no longer a paper permit. It said it agreed this change to its policy in September 2021.
20. The Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaint. It said officers followed procedure and gave Ms X correct information.
21. Ms X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in July 2023.

My investigation

22. Ms X told me she felt holiday let business owners, as a group, are disadvantaged by the Council’s policy. She said her holiday lets are near a residential parking zone. She thought the Council set up residential parking zones to stop visitors from parking and to ensure residents can park. However, holiday lets in these zones can apply for a paper parking permit while guests at her holiday lets must use expensive car parks. She also said the Council does not offer the choice to buy a paper season ticket for a car park, which she could then give to her guests.
23. Ms X said she had to lower the price of her holiday lets due to a lack of parking.
24. The Council told me it introduced the business permit in resident parking zones following a political executive member decision. This was in response to complaints and requests from holiday let owners. It uses paper permits in these zones to have a non-vehicle specific business permit.
25. The Council said the season ticket is a different type of permit, with a higher cost to park in car parks. It said people lose paper permits, or they may be used by someone else, or may still be used after being cancelled - as enforcement officers may not notice the permit has been cancelled. It said by having a digital permit it can reduce the risk of fraud, which was part of the basis for the decision to go to digital permits.
26. The Council said it received a handful of requests for physical, paper season tickets from other holiday let business outside resident parking zones. However, they have accepted the digital permit and continue to use this form of permit. Ms X is the only person to formally complain about the lack of physical, paper season ticket permit.
27. The Council said it followed its policy and would not change this for just one request. It will also not deviate from its policy where the reason given does not suggest there is anything preventing someone from using the digital permit, only that it would be more convenient to have a paper permit. It said other holiday lets use the digital permit and the Council has had little come back about this.
28. The Council said because it uses a digital system, it needs to have a vehicle registered to it. This is so the Council can check the emissions (as it may be entitled to a discount). It also allows enforcement officers to scan the registration plate. Because digital permits cannot be seen physically, there must be a way for enforcement officers to check the validity of the permit.
29. The Council said it has few physical permits, which is at a manageable level for enforcement officers. It said any increase will create a hybrid system which will be difficult for enforcement officers to manage and will reduce their efficiency. It will also increase administration and the risk of permits being lost or misused.
30. The Council also said most services, not just council services, are moving to digital platforms and this is part of the Council’s strategy. It said this brings cost saving benefits, including less administration.

Analysis

31. The Council’s policy is to issue only digital parking permits for its car parks.
32. Councils should not fetter their discretion by rigidly following or applying a policy. We expect councils to consider exercising discretion. That does not mean councils must set aside a policy each time they receive a request. However, we expect councils to consider doing so where someone raises good grounds, such as where a policy disadvantages someone or causes them difficulty, or they are vulnerable.
33. Although the Council strictly followed its policy, I did not find this was an arbitrary decision in this case. The Council referred to other reasons, such as the wish to reduce the risk of fraud, promote efficiency, and save time and money. It also considered the lack of other complaints, and, most importantly here, it considered Ms X’s personal circumstances. It considered the only grounds Ms X raised relate to convenience, rather than a physical barrier. The Council decided Ms X did not raise any compelling reasons why she cannot use the digital permit or why she needs a paper permit, rather than this being a preference.
34. Ms X raised the issue of the Council disadvantaging business owners. We expect the Council to consider the impact of its policies on groups such as businesses. In this case is does not appear other businesses have raised any concerns, so there is no evidence to suggest other business owners feel disadvantaged. Obviously, if the Council does start to receive complaints from other businesses, we would expect it to review its stance, but there is no evidence that is the case at present.
35. I have considered the steps the Council took to consider the issues raised by Ms X’s request for a physical parking permit. When deciding to refuse Ms X’s request, the Council considered its policy, its digital strategy, and information from Ms X. The Council followed appropriate procedures when making its decision and I did not find fault in the process. I therefore cannot question or criticise the decision.

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Final decision

36. I completed my investigation. There was no fault in the Council’s decision-making.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman