Summary: We will not investigate Y’s complaint about the Council’s decision to pause traffic calming work. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Y complained the Council had decided to pause work to install traffic calming measures it had agreed to on her road.

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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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by Y and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Y says the Council agreed to traffic calming measures on the street where she lives. She says the Council has paused the work in 2024.
7. Y says the Council is not following its own road safety and harm reduction policies. She says other areas have had traffic calming measures installed that do not meet strategy need. Further, campaigners were told by the Council there was enough money to complete the works on her street.
8. In its complaint response, the Council explained how it decided to pause the work. It said the traffic calming measures were now not in budget, nor did they meet safety needs for the traffic using the road.
9. It said it had considered government guidance and regularly monitored the road. It said it was committed to improving the roads safety.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. As highways authority, it is the Council’s role to use appropriate traffic calming measures for the individual road which reflect local need. The Council has considered Y’s concerns and explained how it decided to pause the work. I accept Y disagrees with this decision, but this is the Council’s decision to make.
11. We cannot question a decision because someone disagrees with it. There must be evidence of fault in how the Council made the decision. In this case, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.
12. In addition, we will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider community campaign about something of general concern.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Y’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman