Three Rivers District Council (21 014 146)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Feb 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to prevent people parking their cars over his drive and to install yellow lines at a nearby junction. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions. And we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.
The complaint
- The complainant, I shall call Mr B, says the Council has failed to do anything about the parking issues in the road where he lives. In particular, there is a yellow line around one side of a junction, but not the other which he says is dangerous. Also, people parking their cars across his drive.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr B has contacted the Council about problems he has exiting his drive because of poor visibility due to people parking on a nearby junction and too close to the edges of his driveway.
- The Council confirms it cannot take enforcement action without parking controls. In response to contact from Mr B, Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) have visited his property but noted Mr B had full access on and off his drive during their visit.
- It has also told Mr B that if he wants parking restrictions at the nearby junction, then he must make a formal request to the Council’s parking services department. All such requests are reviewed every two years.
- The Council says Mr B has not put in a formal request for parking restrictions.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely that we will find fault in the Council’s actions. Nor is further investigation likely to lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman