Bristol City Council (18 010 726)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Not upheld
Decision date : 07 Jun 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains the Council acted unfairly in how it allocated parking permits to himself and other housemates. The evidence shows the Council allocated the cheapest available permit whenever an application was made. This includes when Mr X applied in January 2019 and he was then awarded the first permit. The evidence shows the parking permits were allocated in accordance with the Council’s policy and Mr X has not paid more because of fault.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council acted unfairly when allocating residents’ parking permits to himself and his other housemates.
- Mr X says he has had to pay more for his parking permit than his housemates.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
- If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- As part of the investigation, I have:
- considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant;
- made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
- discussed the issues with the complainant;
- sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments before making my final decision.
What I found
- Mr X lives in a shared property. The property is in a street which has a residents’ parking scheme. Each property is entitled to three parking permits. Each permit costs a different amount. The charge for the first permit varies depending on the vehicle emissions band, from no charge to £72. The second permit costs £96 and the third permit costs £192.
- Mr X applied for a parking permit in August 2016. He was issued with the second permit as another resident had the first permit. Applications for permits can be made on a quarterly or annual basis. Mr X applied for a quarterly permit. Mr X’s housemate, with the first permit, applied on an annual basis. The housemate first applied for a parking permit in June 2015 for one year. The first permit was then renewed on 1 July 2016 and 1 July 2017. There was therefore no opportunity for Mr X to have the first permit while it was allocated to another person.
- The housemate with the first permit left the property meaning the first permit was cancelled. A new application for a parking permit was made in October 2017. At this time the first permit was available and so was allocated to another of Mr X’s housemates for a year until 31 October 2018.
- Mr X continued to apply on a quarterly basis. He renewed his permit on 1 October 2018 and was allocated the second permit. The other housemate did not renew the first permit when it ended on 31 October 2018. When Mr X next applied to renew his permit in January 2019, the first permit was available and so was allocated to him. Mr X continues to have the first permit.
Analysis
- The Council’s policy and costs for parking permits are clearly stated on its website. The policy allows for three permits for each property in a designated area. The Council will award the cheapest permit available when any application is made.
- Mr X lives in a shared house rather than as part of one household. As a result, the residents of the property change regularly. When Mr X first applied for a permit in August 2016, the first permit was already allocated and so he got the second permit. There is nothing to suggest any fault in this process and there is no evidence to suggest Mr X complained at that time.
- The first permit did not become available again until October 2017. Mr X was mid permit at this time. Another housemate applied for a parking permit and was awarded the cheapest one available. I find no fault in what happened at this time.
- It was open to Mr X to apply for the first permit when it became available even if he already had another permit. It is possible Mr X did not know the first permit had been given up but I am not persuaded there was any duty on the Council to alert Mr X to the fact a cheaper permit was available and I find no fault that it did not do this.
- While I can understand Mr X’s frustration that he had to pay for a more expensive permit than some of his other housemates, I am not persuaded this was due to fault by the Council. When Mr X first applied for his permit, he was correctly awarded the second permit until he applied at a time when the first permit was available and it was then allocated to him. As Mr X now has the first permit it will continue to be allocated to him as long as he applies to renew it within the correct timescales.
Final decision
- I will now complete my investigation as there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman