Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to install a charging point outside his home. Any injustice the Council’s actions has caused to Mr X is not significant enough to warrant an investigation. Additionally, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained to the Council, after it installed an electric vehicle charging point (EVCP), on the footpath, outside his home. Mr X said he was concerned this would prevent him extending his driveway in the future, was concerned about light pollution and he believed the decision about where to position the point was made unfairly.

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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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X was unhappy the Council installed an EVCP in such a position, it was on the footpath, outside the front of his property. He also said the Council did not consider his objections when it had earlier consulted on the locations where it would eventually install EVCP’s.
6. The Council replied to Mr X’s complaint and said it had considered the objections it had received. It also said it assessed the location of the EVCP and said he was would still be able to extend his existing dropped kerb, providing greater access to his driveway.
7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions of the Council. 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.
8. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter. In this case no person has the right to the parking space on the road outside their home and it is not an injustice there may be less one space because of extra facilities.
9. In any case, we could not direct the Council to reposition the EVCP and there is therefore no worthwhile outcome achievable.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no significant injustice and no worthwhile outcome achievable.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman