Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about the Council allowing some residents to park their vehicles on her road during restricted hours. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault and the alleged fault has not caused Ms B a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms B complains the Council has granted free on-street parking on her road to certain residents simply because they did not purchase a property with off-street parking. Ms B says this is unfair because she and other residents are paying a premium on their mortgage to have a property with off-street parking. Ms B also says she paid over £1,000 for temporary parking dispensation permits while she was unable to use her driveway.

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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, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

3. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms B and have viewed the area online.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council has confirmed it has allowed some vehicles to park on Ms B’s road during restricted hours. The Council says this is linked to a small number of properties nearby which do not have off-street parking and are close to a junction.
7. The Council says this is not a permanent arrangement and it is considering the parking situation in this location and will consult residents when it has developed a formal proposal.
8. This was a decision for the Council to make and there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation. And, this decision is separate from the Council’s policy on dispensation parking permits.
9. Also, I find this decision has not caused Ms B a significant and personal injustice. Properties with off-street parking provide a range of benefits and such properties are generally more valuable and more attractive to buyers, even if there are no on-street parking restrictions. So, I find Ms B is not significantly affected by the Council’s decision to allow a small number of vehicles to park on the road during restricted hours.
10. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation. And, the alleged fault has not caused Ms B a significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman