The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking provision, as we could not achieve a worthwhile outcome if we did.
The complaint
Mr X complains there is not enough parking for residents where he lives. He says this is causing distress, inconvenience and impacting his health issues.
Mr X is seeking a number of measures but ultimately wants the Council to increase parking.
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 there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 complained to the Council as there is a lack of parking provision for his street which is having a significant impact on him.
Mr X made several suggestions of ways the Council may ease the impact on residents. The Council has thanked Mr X for his suggestions and said they will consider them further.
The Council does not owe Mr X an absolute right to a parking space near his home. The shortage of parking provision could not therefore amount to a fault in the Council’s service.
The Council has taken on board Mr X’s suggestions, and we would not make a recommendation the Council should produce more parking.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we would not achieve a worthwhile outcome if we did.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman