Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a re-positioned street light. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council moved a street light and placed it outside her house. She says the light is unsightly and the Council did not give advance notification of the work. Mrs X wants the Council to move the light so it is in-between the two houses.

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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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The Council removed two street lights from the opposite side of the road and placed a new one outside Mrs X’s home. Mrs X complained about the position and a lack of notification. She says the workman blocked her drive and she found it very stressful not knowing what was happening or why.
5. The Council apologised for not providing residents with advance warning of the work. It recognised this is important and said it will learn from what happened. The Council also explained it had to move the lights from the other side of the road due to changes to the power supply. It explained the new light is energy efficient and has to be placed in a precise location to ensure an even distribution of light and to meet the British Lighting Standards. The Council said it tries to place lights between properties but this is not always possible. It said it cannot move the light outside Mrs X’s home for these reasons.
6. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council has responded appropriately by apologising for the lack of notice and saying it will learn from what happened. It has also explained why the light had to be moved to Mrs X’s side of the street and why it needs to remain at that location. Mrs X may disagree but that does not mean the Council has done anything wrong in relocating the light. The Council is not required to consult on the position of lights but must ensure the highway is lit is accordance with British Standards. It is unfortunate Mrs X was not notified in advance, and she has explained this caused some anxiety, but this does not amount to fault requiring an investigation and the Council has already apologised.
7. We are not an appeal body and cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision someone disagrees with. We have no power to ask the Council to re-position the light when that would be contrary to the design standards.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman