Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about parking provision. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to add to the Council’s response or achieve anything more for Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to remove a bollard and designated parking spaces. He says the Council installed the bollard and provided residents allocated parking spaces. Mr X says the situation has caused him frustration and impacted his reputation. He wants the Council to reinstate the original conditions attached to the site and provide more evidence to support its decision for changing parking at the site.

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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X complained about the Council's decision to remove a lockable bollard and designated parking space he has used for more than 20 years. The Council told Mr X it received several complaints from residents about the bollard. It said the bollard created a trip hazard. It also said the bollard prevented communal use of the parking space and was inconsistent with site rules, which do not allow residents to reserve or claim exclusive use of communal parking spaces.
6. Mr X disputes the Council's position. He said the bollard and allocated parking arrangement formed part of a previous agreement for the site and that he provided evidence to support this. He was also concerned the Council's response implied he had installed the bollard himself.
7. The Council said it considered the evidence Mr X provided but said it no longer held records from more than twenty years ago and could not verify who installed the bollard. However, it accepted it was likely the Council installed it and therefore it remained Council property.
8. Mr X says the parking arrangements at the site were discussed and agreed by the Council twenty years ago. However, we could not reliably investigate events that took place more than twenty years ago because the relevant records are no longer available.
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. We do not decide whether a council's decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether the complainant disagrees with the decision. Instead, we consider whether there is evidence of fault in the way it reached its decision. The evidence we have seen shows the Council considered the information Mr X provided, along with complaints from residents about safety and compliance with site rules, before reaching its decision to remove the bollard and designated parking space. Although, Mr X disagrees with that decision the Council was entitled to exercise its professional judgement about how to manage parking within the communal area. I am also satisfied it has properly explained the reasons for its decision. Therefore, it is unlikely we would find fault.
10. The Council also offered Mr X a goodwill payment to recognise the frustration and distress the matter may have caused him.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision. Also, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to add to the Council’s response or achieve anything more for Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman