Manchester City Council (23 008 329)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 08 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking restrictions introduced on the road outside of the complainant’s property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Miss X, complains about yellow lines placed outside her home. She says she only has one parking space on her drive and is unable to park her car outsider her home.
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 how the organisation made its decision, 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
- After a public consultation exercise, the Council agreed to implement a parking scheme which included parking restrictions on Miss X’s Road. Miss X complained to the Council about the yellow lines placed outside her property. She says she needs to have parking outside her property as she has children and a back injury.
- The Council said that the parking restrictions were implemented in accordance with the legal process and explained why it could not add a further parking bay outside Miss X’s home. It said if she had mobility issues, Miss X could apply for a blue badge which would allow her to temporarily park outside her home.
- I will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council has dealt with the matter. There is no statutory right to park on the highway outside your home. Where there are no restrictions, motorists can park without charge but the highway authority has powers to new introduce restrictions and infrastructure which may curtail this. Whilst Miss X may disagree with the highway changes, this was not due to fault by the Council.
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