The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of matters relating to a restaurant ventilation system. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the Council has failed to take effective action to address the impact of a restaurant ventilation system which vents into the car park where he parks his car. He says the system is noisy, smelly and greasy and that it makes accessing the car park unpleasant.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) 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, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, including its responses to his complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The extraction system which runs through the car park attached to Mr X’s property was not installed in accordance with the relevant planning permission. The Council investigated a nuisance complaint about this matter and accepted the system was causing a nuisance. Alterations were made to the system which the Council decided were satisfactory so that further action to address a planning breach was not required.
We are not an appeal body and it is not our role to question the professional judgement of officers. The Council decided what is now in place is satisfactory and that it is not expedient to take enforcement action. This is a decision the Council is entitled to take, even though Mr X may disagree with it, and there is no evidence fault affected it.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman