Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (24 004 004)
Category : Transport and highways > Street furniture and lighting
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Aug 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council failed to properly carry out a consultation before moving a bus stop. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council failed to carry out a consultation before moving a bus stop to outside her property.
- She says that as a result, it has caused her and her family significant disruption and she wants the bus stop moving back to its original location.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In 2021, the Council began a consultation about moving a bus stop on Mrs X’s road. It placed a notice in the local newspaper and carried out online meetings (because of the risk of COVID-19). Between 2021 and 2023, the Council said it also wrote five times to Mrs X at her property address about the bus stop.
- Mrs X complained at the end of 2023. She said she had not received any of the letters the Council had sent her and she had previously been unaware of the proposals.
- In its response, the Council explained that it did not have a statutory duty to consult on moving the bus stop. However, it had carried out a non-statutory consultation. It explained this had met the basic principles by providing sufficient information and timescales for consultees to provide meaningful responses which the Council had then given full consideration to before making its decision.
- The Council had no duty to consult with the public yet chose to do so. This non-statutory consultation was in line with the relevant principles. The Council also wrote directly on several occasions to Mrs X about the proposals and cannot be held responsible if those letters were not received. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman