Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s rejection of a request for parking restrictions on the road where Miss X lives. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s refusal to introduce parking restrictions on the road where she lives. She says her access is often obstructed by vehicles parking on the opposite side of the road which causes risk to traffic and pedestrians when she exits here driveway. She also asked the Council to introduce a 20mph speed limit for the area.

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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. Miss X says her access to the street is often obstructed or restricted by vehicles parking opposite on a narrow highway. She asked the Council to paint double yellow lines on the opposite side of the road to prevent this type of parking. The Council investigated her request and this involved a local councillor and data provided by the Police.
6. The Council told Miss X that it could not justify the introduction of a traffic order to add restrictions to the road for the benefit of a single property. The Police data indicated no injury accidents in the location in the past 5 years which is one of the main criteria for introducing traffic management changes. Miss X’s later request for a 20mph speed limit was still being considered under a separate procedure at the time of her complaint to us.
7. 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.
8. The Council considered Miss X’s request for parking restrictions but did not believe it met the threshold for a traffic order. I have considered the steps the organisation took to consider the issue, and the information it took account of when deciding the request. There is no fault in how it took the decision and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s rejection of a request for parking restrictions on the road where Miss X lives. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman