Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the siting of a bus stop. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Ms Y complains the Council relocated a local bus stop to outside her home. Ms Y objects to this and finds it an intrusion on her home.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information Ms Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Ms Y initially complained to the Council about a re-siting of a bus stop to outside her home in November 2021. She said the bus stop had led to people sitting on her neighbour’s doorstep to wait for buses and she felt she needed to close her curtains during the day to protect her privacy.
5. The Council provided a response to her complaint in January 2022. It explained that it had considered her complaint but felt the bus stop had been positioned appropriately. It said it had considered safety concerns relating to the volume of traffic, the local availability of parking, which was low, convenience for bus passengers and the impact of the bus stop for residents who lived next to the bus stop itself. It said that having balanced such factors it was happy with the position of the bus stop and denied any fault. It later confirmed this was its final response on the matter in March 2022, shortly after Ms Y had contacted us.

Analysis

6. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
7. In this case, the Council has decided on the placement of a bus stop. It has done so with consideration of different points of view, including the impact on residents who live in the immediate vicinity of the bus stop. While Ms Y disagrees with the placement of the bus stop, this is not a reason to find fault. The Council has considered relevant factors, as explained above, in its decision-making process. Consequently, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating this complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman