Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about inadequate traffic management on her road. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has not done enough to tackle congestion and safety issues on her road. She says a car accident outside her home resulted in damage to her property and that her children have suffered damage to their cars. She also says cars park over her drive, stopping her from getting onto the 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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. It is not for us to decide whether the Council should make changes to the road layout/parking restrictions or to dictate what changes it should make. We can only look at whether there was fault in the way the Council reached its decision and we could not hold the Council responsible for any damage to cars or property caused by third parties.
6. While I appreciate Mrs X is concerned about traffic on her road the Council has properly considered her concerns and its decision not to take any further action is one it was entitled to make.
7. As a matter of policy the Council does not introduce parking restrictions to protect access to driveways and the Council is satisfied the current parking controls in place are adequate. I have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision and we cannot therefore criticise it.
8. The Council has provided Mrs X with the contact details for its parking enforcement team and confirmed, where resources allow, they will attend on individual occasions where obstructions occur. It has also offered Mrs X the chance to pay for advisory white H-bar markings across her drive or to register for routine parking enforcement across her driveway, although this could result in the issue of penalty charge notices to anyone parking there including her visitors.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman