Bristol City Council (22 013 679)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Apr 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled a road closure and diversion. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Miss X, complains about how the Council managed a road closure which led to vehicles being diverted via a road outside her home. Miss X said the noise and vibration of vehicles meant she was unable to sleep impacting her physical and mental health.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- A number of highway improvements were agreed in the Council’s area to facilitate proposed new housing developments. These improvements included the installation of a new bus lane on a road close to Mrs X’s home.
- The Council is the highway authority, and it has powers to close and divert highways for repair and other reasons. The Council’s highways officers considered relevant factors such as the suitability of the diversion road and if the diversion should be temporary or full time. The Council fully justified its reasons for using the diversion route when it put the proposals to the Highways Committee, who approved the plans.
- We may not question the merits of decisions which have been made in a proper manner. This means the Ombudsman will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions where there was no fault in the process.
- Mrs X feels the Council should have carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment before deciding the diversion route. However, council’s do not have a statutory duty to carry out such assessments for temporary road closures.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman