The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about an unsightly bus shelter in front of his house. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Mr B says the bus shelter in front of his house is in disrepair and barely used. Mr B says if the Council does not have the budget to maintain this shelter, which is an eyesore, it should remove the shelter and move the bus stop sign a few feet away.
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 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 Mr B and have viewed this bus stop on Google Streetview.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation into this complaint.
The information indicates the Council has taken Mr B’s concerns seriously by visiting the site to assess the condition of this bus shelter. The Council has explained the shelter is unsightly but not dangerous, and at the moment it does not have the funds to remove this shelter.
But, the Council said it will review this if a budget becomes available and in the meantime it will make sure the upkeep of this shelter is included in the Council’s maintenance programme.
This was a decision for the Council to make and after viewing recent images of this shelter online, I find it was not wholly unreasonable. In the absence of any fault in the way this decision was reached, it is not our role to say the Council should have reached a different decision.
And, we cannot say the Council should use its limited funds differently, for example by removing or upgrading similar rural bus shelters across the Council’s area.
So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman