Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking provision because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council has failed to prevent cars belonging to local workers from parking on the road near his home. Mr Y says this means he often struggles to park near his home, causing him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council responded to Mr Y’s complaint in October 2024. It explained it would give priority to proposals for parking schemes where a sufficient number of residents would benefit from the use of the resources, in particular to cost from such a scheme. It said that presently, Mr Y was the only resident to request a parking scheme so at present his road would be a low priority. It agreed to keep Mr Y’s request on file with others, but would not act at that time.
6. As the Council has considered Mr Y’s request, including relevant criteria such as cost and benefit to residents, and have made him aware of a different parking scheme under which he can receive a resident permit, the request has been properly decided and we would not find fault. We will therefore not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman