Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council not renewing her parking permit. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains the Council has refused to renew her residents parking permit, which she has had for nine years, because the Council says it was issued in error. Miss B says she recently bought a car for work and she is concerned she will not be able to park the vehicle near her property. Miss B would like the Council to allow her to renew her parking permit.

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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 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Miss B. I have also viewed Google maps and Streetview, and have considered information on the Council’s website about the Council’s controlled parking zones.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council recently decided not to renew Miss B’s residents parking permit after identifying that Miss B’s address does not fall within the nearby controlled parking zone. I have not seen any information to indicate Miss B’s property qualifies for a residents parking permit.
6. This was a decision for the Council to make and it is not our role to tell the Council it should continue to issue parking permits to Miss B.
7. The Council’s decision came as a shock to Miss B, but she has also benefited from the use of a parking permit which should not have been issued. Also, the Council acted reasonably by using its discretion to allow Miss B an additional three months use of her permit.
8. So, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation into this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman