Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to change the location of a bus shelter near Mr X’s home. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to take action over his complaints about a bus shelter on the highway hear his home. He wants the Council to move it because it attracts anti-social behaviour, devalues his property and causes potential highway safety problems.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with 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))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X bought his home in 2021 and had complained about a bus shelter on the public highway outside it since then. He says it attracts anti-social behaviour such as smoking and drinking from its users and lowers the value of his property. He also says buses using the stop could cause inconvenience or danger when eh is trying to exit his driveway.
7. The Council told him that the bus shelters along the road were subject to planning approval in 2018 after consultation with local residents. There is no reason to move the stop to another location and highway matters were considered at the time. The stops are a convenience for the whole community and other users must be taken into consideration.

Finding

8. Mr X bought his home some years after the bus shelters were approved by the local planning authority. The approval was properly considered at the time, and he must have been aware of the presence of the shelter when he purchased in 2021. There was no possibility that the planning approval could be revisited once completed. Any loss of value to adjacent dwellings would not be part of the planning process because it is not a material planning consideration
9. We may not question the merits of decisions which have been properly made. We do not comment on judgements councils make, unless they are affected by fault in the decision-making process.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to change the location of a bus shelter near Mr X’s home. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman