Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to pay compensation for disturbance to Miss X’s business due to road works closing the highway. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s refusal to pay her compensation for loss of trade due to road works on the road where her business is located. She says she has been forced to close her business because of the works and the introduction of a bus lane.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X runs a business which is on a road subject to major road works over the past 18 months. The works included addition of a bus lane as part of major infrastructure improvements. She says her business was badly affected by the COVID-19 restrictions and the works have added to loss of footfall. She complained to the Council that she has been forced to close her business and should be offered compensation.
6. The Council told Miss X that the works were part of a Traffic Order for re-surfacing and bus traffic improvements. Consultation for the scheme was carried out in 2021 and she made no formal objections at the time.
7. There is currently no statutory compensation for businesses affected by road works. Successive governments have taken the view that businesses should not have the right in law to any particular level of passing trade, and that traders must take the risk of loss due to temporary disruption of traffic flow along with all the other various risks of running a business. In this case the Council is the highway authority and it has no obligation to compensate Miss X.
8. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to pay compensation for disturbance to Miss X’s business due to road works closing the highway. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman