Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about a night time road diversion which caused a nuisance. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains about the Council’s handling of a night time road diversion which resulted in heavy traffic including lorries passing her property which is on a residential road. Miss B complains the Council has not shown that it properly considered the impact on residents or that it considered alternative routes. Miss B says the Council did not tell her about this diversion in advance and ignored her initial enquiry about it. Miss B also complains the Council has not provided a satisfactory response to her complaint.

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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 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Miss B. I have also viewed the area on Google maps and Streetview.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council has provided a suitable response to Miss B’s complaint by providing further information about this road diversion and apologising for not responding to Miss B’s initial enquiry.
6. The Council said Miss B’s road, which is a classified road, is the prescribed diversion route in this location and has been used for previous road closures.
7. The Council has explained that it has assessed this road as being suitable for the volume and type of traffic associated with this diversion and there were no suitable alternative roads.
8. These are assessments for the Council to make as the local highways authority and we would not normally question the professional judgement of relevant officers unless there is clear evidence of fault in the decision-making process.
9. It is unfortunate that Miss B did not know about this diversion before it started. The Council said it delivered notification letters to properties on Miss B’s road. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to allow us to say on balance what happened to the letter for Miss B’s property. The Council also provided updates on the Council website and put up warning signs before each planned closure.
10. Overall, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman