The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the decision to place Electric Vehicle Chargers on a road as there is insufficient injustice caused to warrant investigation.
The complaint
Mr X says that residents were not properly consulted about a decision to place electric chargers on his road.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, 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), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says that the Council’s consultation for a proposal to add Electric Vehicle Chargers to the road outside his house was flawed as not all residents were specifically notified. Mr X is concerned that there will be less available spaces on the road.
Mr X’s home has a driveway and would not be affected by the proposals as he can still park off road. The Council asserts that all proper consultation was carried out (including advertising) and the charging bays will not exclude other parking.
Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
Whilst I appreciate that Mr X is unhappy with the proposed changes (but will benefit those wishing to charge their cars) I am not persuaded that the claimed injustice here is sufficient to warrant investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman