Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a change in speed limit. This is because any injustice caused is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains the Council has increased the speed limit on his road which he considers to be unsafe. Mr Y says the Council does not have the power to increase the limit, only lower it.
2. Mr Y says he is concerned for public safety and now finds it hard to drive onto the road due to the change in speed. He also says the increase in pollution from cars travelling more quickly will have an adverse effect on people’s health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr Y complained to the Council about the change in speed limit in September 2021. Mr Y said he had been in contact with his local councillor about the issue previously but had been told that the Council considered the speed limit of 40mph on the road to be appropriate and that a lowering of the limit was not needed. Mr Y explained that this was, in his view, contrary to the Department for Transport’s guidance for speed limits.
6. The Council responded, explaining that it did have the power to increase the speed limit to 40mph under the Highways Act 1984. It said it therefore had the ability to set speed limits higher or lower than 30mph where there is a system of street lighting. Mr Y then approached us.

Analysis

7. Mr Y says his concern is for public safety, both on the road, as pedestrians and motorists and for the increased pollution from cars driving at a higher speed. He also says he now is more anxious when he is trying to join the road from his property because of the higher speed. He has also referred to an accident on the road which happened recently between two motorbikes.
8. We consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. As explained in paragraph three, if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, we will not start an investigation into a complaint. While Mr Y may be generally concerned about the increased speed limit, there is not a significant enough level of injustice to Mr Y to justify our involvement. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice caused to Mr Y is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman