Hastings Borough Council (25 013 072)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Jan 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Council operated car park. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X complained he used a Council operated car park, which was locked when he returned to his car. Mr X said the closure time of the car park was not clear enough.
- Mr X said this left him stranded in an area he was unfamiliar with.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained he used a Council operated car park which was locked on returning to his car. Mr X said there was no clear signposting of the closure time and the Council did not have a procedure to help people in this situation.
- In its complaint response the Council told Mr X there are many signs stating the time the car park closes. While it acknowledged a small number of them are faded, it said they remain readable. It also told Mr X this information is available online.
- It also said it does not have available resources to have staff to let people out of locked car parks overnight.
- The available information suggests we would be unlikely to find fault by the Council here. For this reason, we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman