Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a request for speed restrictions and traffic calming. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to tell him when it would introduce a speed restriction and traffic calming on a main road near his home. he says this causes him anxiety when he is driving in the area and affects the saleability of his home. He also complained about traffic diversions nears his home when roadworks were carried out.

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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 how the organisation made its decision, 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 the information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council failed to provide him with details about when it would introduce traffic calming on a main road where he lives. He says the speed and volume of traffic is a danger to him when he is driving and that his home is affected by the traffic. The Council advised him that it had included improvements for the stretch of road in question but that the design of the scheme had been delayed and its implementation was subject to budgetary constraints.
6. Council as highway authorities have powers to change traffic management and speed and parking restrictions. This is a power not a duty and they can only introduce changes by way of a traffic regulation order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Without a legal order any new traffic regulations and signs would not be enforceable.
7. The Council told Mr X that informal consultation with the local parish council and police would begin in March 2024 but it cannot tell him when the traffic order will be introduced at present. The introduction of a traffic order is a power which the highway authority can use but it is not a statutory duty. Most highway authorities maintain a list of schemes which have been approved for a traffic order and these are carried out according to urgency and budgetary factors.
8. Mr X also complained about traffic diversions near his home following roadworks on the main road. The Council informed him that it has a duty to ensure utility companies can carry out works on the highway safely and that this sometimes involves partial or complete road closures. It apologised for any inconvenience but this is inevitable when work is required on a highway.
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made. In this case the Council has advised Mr X of what actions it has taken so far on his traffic concerns and what action it proposes to take.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a request for speed restrictions and traffic calming. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman