Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about parking and traffic management issues on his road. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to address parking and traffic management issues on his road. He says this is causing disruption to his daily life. He wants the Council to act to improve availability of parking for residents and implement traffic calming measures.

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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 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 provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In its complaint responses, the Council set out how it had considered his concerns. It said officers had visited the street several times but had not found evidence of abandoned or untaxed vehicles. It also said there was insufficient evidence that a local business was misusing parking spaces. It said its officers would continue to monitor the situation going forward.
7. In response to his traffic management concerns, it said the data showed a low level of traffic incidents on his street compared to others in the area. Because of this, his street was not currently prioritised for traffic calming measures. However, this would be kept under review and could be considered in the future.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has appropriately considered and investigated Mr X’s concerns. It has explained to him how it has reached its decisions and how it will keep the situation under review going forward. This is what we would expect. Although I accept Mr X disagrees with the Council’s position, there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman