Wokingham Borough Council (25 015 448)
Category : Transport and highways > Street furniture and lighting
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 Oct 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to provide appropriate signage on a road diversion. This is because any injustice Mr X experienced is not sufficient to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council failed to provide adequate road signage at a road diversion and this caused him distress and inconvenience.
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:
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
- we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council after he was unable to follow the signage at a road diversion on a motorway. He said the poor signage led to him wasting time and fuel. He asked the Council for compensation.
- The Council upheld the complaint and acknowledged that the signage had not been adequate. It apologised and told him it would review its processes to ensure that all future diversions were set up correctly and it would increase its social media communication, so local people were made aware of diversions.
- Mr X remains unhappy with the situation and wants us to find the Council at fault. The Ombudsman does not penalise councils or take punitive measures against them. The Council has investigated and upheld Mr X’s complaint. It has apologised and informed Mr X of the actions it will take to prevent this happening again. This is sufficient to address any injustice Mr X experienced. A financial award would not be proportionate to the injustice identified.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any injustice Mr X suffered is not sufficient to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman