The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council introducing EV chargers in a residential area without sufficient consultation. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council introducing EV chargers in the footway in her village without adequate public consultation. She says there were 3 objectors and 3 residents in favour which was insufficient for the Council to decide to proceed with the installation.
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 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 the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says the Council decided to introduce chargers after sending letters notifying the residents of only a small part of her village. She says the number of objector and those in favour was equal (three of each view) so the council should have re-run the consultation.
The council says that it carried out sufficient media publicity and that residents were sufficiently aware of the proposals. The chargers in in the edge of the footway and do not restrict pedestrian access or affect current parking regulations. If any future changes are necessary to the parking regulations then an amended Traffic Regulation order will be sought which involves a certain amount of public notification and consultation.
The chargers were installed as part of the highway infrastructure and as such, the Highway Authority, which is the Council in this case, has no obligation to consult or seek a referendum on the work. Under s.115 of the Highways Act 1980 a highway authority can instal any type of infrastructure or apparatus such as signs and lighting without consultation with the public. There is no right of appeal for objectors against this.
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council introducing EV chargers in a residential area without sufficient consultation. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman