Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking spaces which the complainant says prevent him using an access road safely. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, rents a property at the end of an access road. Mr X says the Council allows partial footway parking opposite the access road which mean he cannot use the access road safely and securely. Mr X says the Council should not allow illegitimate parking places.

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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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (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 Mr X and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. In 2011 the Council Cabinet approved footway parking in road A.
5. Mr X has a property at the end of an access road off road A. Parking is permitted on the road/path opposite the access road. Mr X says the parked cars mean he cannot safely access his property.
6. The Council visited road A. Officers drove a Sports Utility Vehicle in and out of the access road at a time when there was 100% parking in road A. The officers found there were no access problems. The Council told Mr X it will not change the parking arrangements in road A.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by visiting the road and doing a test to check the issues Mr X had raised. I appreciate Mr X disagrees with the outcome but it is not wrong for a council to follow the professional judgement of highway officers. Further, the parking spaces are not illegitimate because they were approved by councillors in 2011. We have no power to tell the Council it must change the parking arrangements in road A.
8. We do not act as an appeal body and, like the Council, we cannot question the decision reached by officers after they conducted a test. We are not highway officers, and it is not our role to assess road safety issues or parking provision.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman