Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to shorten some parking bays and add yellow lines. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, says she has been victimised by the Council after it shortened some parking bays and installed double yellow lines. Mrs X wants the Council to remove the lines.

Back to top

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))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and photographs of the street. I also considered our Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

4. The Council inspected Mrs X’s road after receiving a report about a parking issue. The Council decided to shorten some parking bays to prevent larger vehicles parking in them. This was because the Council decided larger vehicles limited sight lines and caused road safety issues. After a period of consultation, the Council also installed some double yellow lines.
5. Mrs X complained about the shortened bays and the lines. She said it affected her family’s parking arrangements. The Council explained it needed to make the changes for road safety reasons, and it has a duty to maintain safety as the highway authority. It said a policy change in 2020 provided for road changes for this reason and said it would update its website to make this clearer. It agreed it should have consulted with Mrs X over the bays but also said no other option was feasible. It said Mrs X had off-street parking she could use.
6. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately to the report by visiting and deciding there was a safety issue it needed to address. Mrs X may disagree, but it is not our role to question the professional judgement of highway officers and we could not tell the Council to reverse the changes. The Council acknowledged it should have consulted with Mrs X but, even if this had happened, it is unlikely the outcome would have been different. Mrs X would probably have objected but the Council would still have had a duty to ensure the road is safe.
7. We do not act as an appeal body and we cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

Back to top

Final decision

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

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman