Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about traffic and parking management because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council has added double yellow lines on the road near his home, which he says causes difficulty in finding parking spaces as a resident, in an area popular with visitors and tourists. Mr Y also says he believes residents would not have asked for the restrictions, despite the Council saying that was why it implemented the change.

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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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (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 Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr Y says residents in his area have found it harder to park since double yellow lines were added to a road near to where he lives. He says the Council told him in its complaint response that the change was made at the request of residents and a councillor. He feels however that this is not something people on his estate would have asked for and that they would likely have objected to the change.
5. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered a serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss of injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
6. In this case Mr Y has not suffered a sufficiently significant personal injustice which has cause him a hardship. There is no right for him to be able to park near his home and his general unease at the change is not a significant distress or inconvenience. While he may feel strongly about the matter, there is not enough significant injustice to justify our involvement, and we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman