Worcestershire County Council (26 001 998)
Category : Transport and highways > Street furniture and lighting
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to remove streetlights from a bridge. This is because any personal injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council removed streetlights from a bridge. He also complained about the lack of transparency in the Council's decision-making and consultation process. Mr X was disappointed and frustrated. He wants the Council to reinstate the streetlights and explain why it decided to remove them. He also wants the Council to make service improvements to prevent a recurrence of fault.
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. (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
- In mid-2025, the Council replaced the streetlights on a bridge with new streetlights.
- Mr X said the Council’s actions were wrong. He said the streetlights were historic and that they were on a listed bridge. He said the Council failed to obtain consent from the planning authority to replace them. Mr X wanted the Council to reinstall the previous streetlights.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. We recognise Mr X is disappointed and frustrated with the Council’s actions however, the personal injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any personal injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman