Devon County Council

The Ombudsman's final decision

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about Council decision-making related to a local bus gate. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

Mr X complains the Council has failed to properly consider the impact of a bus gate on local residents during its decision-making. He says the bus gate causes increased journey time, additional fuel costs and causes inconvenience. He wants the Council to properly review the impact of the bus gate on residents and consider whether additional measures are needed to mitigate its impact.

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.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

How I considered this complaint

I considered information provided by the complainant.

I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

My assessment

In its complaint response, the Council said it had considered the impact of the bus gate at a highways committee meeting in 2025 and reaffirmed its commitment to keeping it. It said the impact on local residents was considered as part of this decision making.

We will not investigate this complaint. The Council appears to have appropriately considered the matter before reaching its decision. Although I acknowledge Mr X may not agree with the Council’s decision and wants the Council to assess the impact in further detail, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.

Final decision

We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman