Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with the complainant’s concerns about a cycle event. It is unlikely the Ombudsman would find fault by the Council has caused the complainant injustice that warrants his involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained about how the Council has dealt with his concerns about the impact of a cycling event known as Ride London. Mr B says the Council has not responded to his complaint and not taken account of the views of people affected by road closures.

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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’.
3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault;
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint. The Council also provided background information. Mr B commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

Background – RideLondon

5. RideLondon is a cycling event that began in 2013. It takes place over one weekend and involves extensive road closures in parts of Surrey on one day.

Analysis

6. The Council’s response to Mr B’s concerns has largely focused on the fact that its elected Members have decided to hold the event as a matter of policy. It has not directly addressed his concerns about consultation and the impact of road closures.
7. Mr B lives within a few miles of roads that are closed for the event and means he cannot use his usual route to get to West London where he works.
8. I have to take into account of the facts that the road closures happen on one day a year and, while no doubt inconvenient, there is an alternative route Mr B could take which is not significantly longer. I am also aware that considerable publicity is given to the event and the road closures in advance.

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Final decision

9. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. This is because, even if there has been fault by the Council, this would not have caused Mr B injustice that would justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman