Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to properly address his concerns about the safety of a road, risking his safety. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault. He recommends the Council writes to Mr X setting out its consideration of his concerns and what action, if any, it will take. And ensure it keeps a written record of complaint responses in future.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to make Road A safe to cross, despite him raising concerns since May 2018, risking the safety of him and others. He is also unhappy with its complaint handling.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to Mr X and I reviewed documents provided by Mr X and the Council. I gave Mr X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision and I considered the comments provided.

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What I found

Road safety law

7. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act says each council must carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads within their area. And take any measures the council considers appropriate to prevent such accidents.

Council policy

8. Traffic management schemes are introduced to solve problems on one or more roads. The need for a scheme can be varied. It may be a bad accident record or the concerns of residents that prompt an investigation.
9. Sometimes the Council adopts an area-wide approach to traffic problems, for example, where there is a demand from several residential roads for speed control humps. Priority is given to the worst problems first.

Council complaints process

10. The Council will immediately resolve a complaint within one working day or it will register a formal complaint and respond within 15 working days.
11. If a customer is unhappy the Council will investigate at stage 2 and respond within 20 working days.
12. If the customer remains unhappy they can contact the Ombudsman.

What happened

13. Mr X lives in a village near Road A. To access a bus stop on Road A he uses a pedestrian crossing point, not far from a roundabout. The speed limit along this part of Road A is 30mph.
14. The Council has provided a record of Mr X’s telephone contact on 4 May 2018. This reports Mr X is severely sight impaired and has concerns about using the crossing on Road A. It says he wants a sign to warn drivers that blind people use the crossing as he has had some near misses.
15. On 9 May 2018 the Council wrote to Mr X. It explained it would record his request on its database. It reviews all requests annually to decide which to prioritise and include in its Local Transport Plan Programme. It discusses the draft programme in the first quarter of each year and publishes the committee papers online. It provided contact details of the local councillor and town council who consider the requests.
16. In December 2018 the Council investigated road safety issues on a section of Road A with a speed limit of 40mph. The report does not consider the safety of Road A at the point used by Mr X.
17. The Council has provided a record of Mr X’s telephone contact on 21 May 2019. This says Mr X has been asking the Council for a flashing speed sign at the crossing on Road A since May 2018. Despite promises it would install a sign this has still not been done and he has not heard further despite chasing. He wants the Council to take action to slow vehicles on the road.
18. An internal email dated 11 June shows the Council spoke to Mr X by phone and then closed the case. However, the Council has not provided further details of this call.
19. The Council has provided a record of Mr X’s telephone contact on 14 June. This says Mr X has complained about people driving at 60mph instead of 30mph on Road A. The Council had told him it is not responsible for making the road safe and he wanted to know who was.
20. On 17 June Mr X wrote to the Council complaining it had not responded to his request as to who was responsible for making Road A safe to cross.
21. An internal email dated 18 June shows the Council spoke to Mr X by phone and then closed the case. However, the Council has not provided further details of the call.
22. On the same date the Council wrote to Mr X to say it had asked for speed surveys and would send him a copy of the results.
23. On 19 August Mr X contacted the Ombudsman. He said despite raising concerns since May 2018 the Council has not made Road A safe or responded to him properly.
24. The Ombudsman then asked the Council to complete stage 2 and provide a written response to Mr X.
25. The Council responded on 19 September. It said it had responded to Mr X’s complaints since May 2019 by phone as requested, but this meant it had no record of the calls. It explained any road safety concerns are logged and then considered alongside all other concerns raised over the year. If it considers a matter of sufficient significance and it is supported by the parish council or a local councillor it will apply scores using its local transport plan criteria and depending on scoring will include in its programme of works for the following financial year. It has secured funding for a flashing light to warn drivers of the speed limit. Mr X can contact the Ombudsman if he remains unhappy.
26. Mr X told the Ombudsman he did not ask for a flashing warning light, he asked for Road A to be made safe and the Council’s final response was unhelpful.
27. In response to my enquiries the Council said:
• It considers the crossing is safe.
• No-one else has asked for improvements to the crossing.
• There have been no collisions involving pedestrians at the crossing in the last 5 years.
• In July 2019 it carried out a speed survey 230m north of the bus shelters. The current speed limit is 40mph and the average speeds recorded were 34 mph. This shows there is not a problem with excessive speed.
• It collates all requests for traffic management and annually passes these to the local county councillor and parish council for consideration. They then decide the top three priorities for consideration to include in the Council’s programme for improvements. Mr X’s request has not been included in the programme. It also has a programme for works where there have been accidents but this does not apply to the crossing.
• There has been no delay in taking action following Mr X’s concerns.
• It has provided a plan to show the location for the speed warning sign. It will work with the town and parish council to introduce this. It is not being introduced for Mr X’s benefit, but the sign will help drivers keep within the speed limit. (I note the sign is on one side of the road as cars approaches the crossing).
• Given the continued concerns raised by Mr X it will consider introducing slow road markings on both approaches to the crossing. These are part of a larger road safety scheme, however there is a delay with this due to a planning application.

Findings

28. Mr X complains about the Council’s actions from more than 12 months ago, however he was waiting until early 2019 for the Council to address his concerns. I therefore consider it appropriate to exercise discretion to consider the complaint from May 2018.
29. When Mr X raised concerns in May 2018 the Council explained how it would consider these under its policy. It did not say it would contact Mr X again or keep him updated. I therefore find no fault by the Council in not doing so.
30. The Council has no written record of its responses to Mr X’s complaints in May and June 2019. While the Council says Mr X wanted a response by phone I consider it should also have kept a written record. Mr X considers the Council failed to address his concerns properly and the Council has no documentary evidence to show it did. I therefore find the Council at fault in how it dealt with Mr X’s complaints.
31. The Council does not have to act on every safety concern raised and it has outlined its process for consulting on and prioritising road safety issues. However, the Council has not provided any evidence Mr X’s request was considered as part of its annual review or what the views on this were. Although the Council says it considers the crossing is safe it has not provided data to support this and the speed surveys referenced relate to another section of Road A with a 40mph speed limit. I am therefore not satisfied the Council has followed a proper decision making process. This amounts to fault.
32. I note there are plans to install a speed warning light near the crossing and the Council will consider introducing slow road markings. However, the Council has not first properly decided if there is a safety concern and it is not definite it will take action or when.
33. I cannot say Road A is unsafe or what action, if any, the Council should take. But, because the Council has not properly addressed Mr X’s concerns he has suffered uncertainty.

Agreed action

34. To remedy the injustice set out above I recommend the Council carry out the following actions within one month of the date of my decision:
• Write to Mr X to say whether it considers the crossing at Road A is safe or not and provide evidence to support its view. If the Council considers the crossing is not safe it should say what action it will take to remedy this and provide a timeframe for action.
• Take steps to ensure staff keep a written record of any complaint responses provided by phone.
35. The Council has accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

36. I have found the Council at fault in how it addressed Mr X’s concerns about road safety. The Council has accepted my recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman