Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council not implementing traffic and parking restrictions in a residential area. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would find evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has not implemented traffic and parking measures on his road. Mr X complains that because of this, staff from a local business establishment are parking on the road and causing access problems to the road and to his property.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered Mr X’s complaint, the information he submitted and his correspondence with the Council. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of my decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. Mr X lives close to a nearby business establishment. Mr X complains that staff from the local business are parking their cars on the residential road where Mr X lives. Mr X complains this obstructs access to his property and causes dangerous driving when pulling out of his driveway and accessing the road.
5. Mr X also complains that because of the lack of parking, workmen have had to park on his driveway and have caused damage.
6. Mr X complains the Council has not implemented parking and traffic measures to prevent non-residential parking. Mr X would like for the Council to implement parking and traffic measures and reimburse him for the damages to his drive.
7. The Council wrote to the business establishment and asked them to address the issue that Mr X complained about.
8. The Council advised Mr X that it uses a priority matrix to allocate resources to the areas that need it the most. It advised the issue that Mr X has raised does not have priority at the current time.

Assessment

9. I cannot see fault in how the Council reached its decision to not implement measures at the current time. The Council has a risk matrix it must use to ensure funds are allocated appropriately, to which it has adhered to.
10. The Council has written to the business establishment asking it to resolve the issue. I consider this to be an appropriate action for the Council to have taken to try and remedy the issue. It will be up to the business establishment to address the issue with staff.
11. Furthermore, the Council is not responsible for damage caused to Mr X’s property by third parties.

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Final decision

12. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because an investigation is unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman