Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s late complaint about the removal of the H-bar road marking outside her property. This is because there is no good reason Mrs X did not bring it to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council removed the H-bar road marking from her driveway without warning as part of its changes to a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).
2. Mrs X said this meant she was unable to park her second vehicle across her driveway to prevent other vehicles from blocking her in. She wanted the Council to reinstate the H-bar marking.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph one, in March 2025. She did not come to us until April 2026, which is outside the 12-month period for bringing complaints to us.
7. I note that the Council acknowledged a delay in issuing its stage two response to Mrs X’s complaint, which took from May to November 2025 to be issued. However, there is no good reason for the further delay in Mrs X bringing the matter to us.
8. The complaint is late and I have seen no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the removal of the H-bar road marking outside her property. This is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason Mrs X did not bring it to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman