Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about unauthorised parking on the footway and private land near his home. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about vehicles parking on the footway causing obstruction and accessing housing association land near his home to park where no parking provision exists.

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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, 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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says he is disabled and has problems with cars parking on the footway near his home. He complained to the Council and it advised him to contact the Police. This is because pavement parking is only an offence in London and Scotland. In other areas of the country, such as Manchester where he lives, it is only an advisory matter under the Highway Codes rule 244.
6. Obstruction of the footway and access to driveways is a matter for the Police to enforce. The Council gave Mr X advice about this in its complaint response.
7. Mr X also says cars park on land near his home which belongs to the Housing Association landlord. He believes this may be a breach of planning approval for the site because the landlord is operating an unauthorised car park. The Council told him that there is no application to change the use of the land which belongs to the housing association. Unless the land is being advertised or charged for as a car park this appears likely to be unauthorised parking by residents and callers. The landlord is responsible for management of its estates and Mr X should make a complaint to the housing association.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
9. The Council can only operate parking enforcement when a vehicle is observed to be parked in breach of the traffic regulations in that area. Obstruction is a matter for the police and parking on private social housing land is a housing matter. Mr X could complain to the Housing Ombudsman service if he is a tenant of the landlord where the parking is taking place.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about unauthorised parking on the footway and private land near his home. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman