The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with the issue of antisocial behaviour by people using a leisure centre car park and play area. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council dealt with the matter.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about how the Council has dealt with antisocial behaviour by people using a leisure centre car park and play area close to his home. Mr X wants the Council to install a physical barrier
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X previously complained to the Ombudsman that the Council had refused his request to turn off flood lights at the car park and to install a physical barrier. I will not investigate these matters again as we do not accept multiple complaints about the same issues.
I will also not investigate the Council’s actions since we considered Mr X’s previous complaint. This is because I have seen no evidence of fault in how the Council has dealt with the issues.
The Council has taken a multi-agency approach, working with councillors, the police and the leisure centre to try to reduce antisocial behaviour. During a meeting in December, it was agreed that councillors would encourage residents to report instances of antisocial behaviour to the police, who would contact the leisure centre and obtain CCTV footage obtained. The police would then look to take enforcement action against any offenders. Incidents would be reviewed, and other options considered if antisocial behaviour escalated. The Council wrote to Mr X to inform him of the outcome of the meeting. Mr may disagree with the Council’s approach, but this does not mean it has done anything wrong.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman