Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the introduction of new parking restrictions in Mr X’s road. This is because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council installed single yellow lines in his road without installing the requisite signage and that it has failed to provide a timescale for resolving the issue. He says the situation has caused confusion for motorists for over a year and has led him to being verbally abused on two occasions by motorists who think he has parked illegally.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. The Council began the implementation of a new “no waiting” scheme in Mr X’s road to address safety concerns raised by residents about vehicles parking in the road. It painted the yellow lines but due to the lack of available street furniture it delayed in erecting the necessary signage to make the single yellow lines enforceable as it needed to install new signposts and this required STAT searches to check for utilities running beneath the grass verges in the road.
6. Mr X complained to the Council about its handling of matters and its delay in completing the scheme. The manager who responded explained that in error he had understood that the signs had been installed when they had not and that he would look into how they had been overlooked and to rectify the situation as soon as possible. He said the STAT searches would be completed and that residents would be consulted before May 2024 for their views of the scheme and whether they would like to make it permanent.
7. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and, while Mr X’s frustration is understandable, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to usefully add to the Council’s own investigation or lead to a significantly different outcome.
8. In responding to my initial enquiries, the Council has confirmed that it is working on completing the STAT searches and that in the meantime, Highways will be ordering the full complement of signs and have already installed some on street lighting columns.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman