Kingston Upon Hull City Council (21 005 662)

Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 06 Sep 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a road closure due to a dangerous structure. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

  1. Mr X complained about the Council failing to fully re-open a road which was closed in February 2021 after a building was damaged in a storm. He says the local business community will suffer from traffic congestion if the road is not re-opened fully.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Mr X says he runs a business in the part of the city which has been affected by a road closure since February. A building was damaged in a storm but he says the owners have done little to complete repairs since then. The Council has opened one lane of the road since the closure, but he says this is not sufficient to prevent traffic delays which can affect local businesses.
  2. The Council is the highway authority and it has a statutory duty to ensure that dangerous structures do not present a danger to pedestrians and traffic. The Council says it cannot tell Mr X when the building will be completed but it has no option but to protect the public by the closure until it is.
  3. We may not question the merits of decisions which have been properly made. We do not comment on judgements councils make, unless they are affected by fault in the decision-making process.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate this complaint about a road closure due to a dangerous structure. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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