The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to the complainant’s reports of parking congestion in her road. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains about the Council’s response after she reported parking problems in her road. She says the Council did not speak to residents or visit after 4pm as she had requested.
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 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 Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and photos officers took when they visited. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
Ms X reported parking problems in her street and asked for lines or designated parking bays. She asked the Council to visit after 4pm and speak to residents.
The Council visited at 3.45pm on a weekday and found no parking issues. It explained the outcome of the visit and said it prioritises parking schemes where there are safety issues. It also explained that creating parking bays can lead to a loss of about a third of the available space. The Council said it has to prioritise applications because creating a parking scheme is a long and expensive process, with no guarantee the scheme would progress because many people oppose parking restrictions. The Council suggested Ms X liaise with her neighbours as the parked cars are mainly from residents and their visitors.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council responded appropriately by visiting and explaining why it will not introduce parking restrictions. It is not fault for a council not to agree to a resident’s request and it is not fault for a council not to do exactly what someone wants. It is for the Council, not us, to decide whether parking restrictions are needed. If Ms X remains of the view that restrictions are needed then she could contact her local councillors, perhaps in conjunction with her neighbours. But, as I have said, it is for the Council to decide whether to introduce restrictions and it might be that the majority of residents would not support a scheme given the potential loss of parking space.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman