Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed in repainting the single and double yellow lines near his home. He also complains the Council does not enforce these restrictions so there is no deterrent to parking on the single or double yellow lines. The Council’s delay in repainting the yellow lines amounts to fault. This fault caused Mr X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X complained the Council delayed in repainting the single and double yellow lines near his home. He also complains the Council does not enforce these restrictions so there is no deterrent to parking on the single or double yellow lines.
2. Mr X is concerned about the dangers the cars parked the yellow lines pose. He is visually impaired and is unable to see vehicles approaching on the road due to the parked cars obstructing his vision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mr X; and
• Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

6. Mr X contacted the Council’s parking services in November 2022 to report problems with cars parking on double yellow lines near his home. He provided photographs of the issues and the Council confirmed it would monitor the area for the following four weeks and provide Mr X with feedback.
7. As he had not heard anything, Mr X chased the Council for an update in late December 2022 and again in early January 2023. The Council provided details of its monitoring, which showed enforcement officers had visited the area several times a week. On the majority of occasions the single and double yellow lines were clear, but there were four visits when officers moved vehicles on.
8. The Council told Mr X it had requested the single and double yellow lines be repainted and would let him know when this would take place. The Council asked Mr X to confirm if there were certain days or times when parking on the yellow lines was particularly bad, it would then arrange for further monitoring.
9. Mr X asked the Council to monitor the area between 9am and 10 am each day as this was a particularly busy time with cars routinely parked on the double yellow lines. The Council told Mr X an officer would patrol every second day for the next two weeks and they would then feedback.
10. In late February 2023 the Council provided details of the monitoring. This showed officers had visited between three and six times a week for the last month and had moved cars on during eight of these visits. The Council confirmed it would continue to monitor the area on a weekly basis and would chase up a timeframe for yellow lines to be refreshed.
11. Mr X contacted the Council again in May 2023 requesting an update as cars were still parking on the yellow lines. The Council confirmed it had passed the job of repainting the lines to a new lining contractor and would chase a date for completion. It also asked the enforcement team to make more visits to the area.
12. As the parking problems got worse, Mr X contacted the Council again in July 2023. He was unhappy the problem had been ongoing for almost a year and that the Council was slow to respond. The Council said it was still awaiting timeframes for the relining and would update Mr X when it had more information.
13. In August 2023 the Council confirmed officers would be meeting with the lining contractor in early September 2023 and would provide an update following this meeting. The Council then confirmed on 7 September 2023 that the lining on the streets near Mr X’s home had been put on the priority list and should be refreshed within the next four weeks. Once the lining works were complete the Council would ask the enforcement team to conduct extra patrols at problematic times and issue penalties where appropriate.
14. Mr X chased the Council for an update in early October 2023 as the lining works had still not been done. He asked for his correspondence to be treated as a formal complaint.
15. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in late October 2023. It noted Mr X had asked the Council to refresh the lining in August 2023 as they were almost non-existent, making them difficult to enforce. The jobs were then logged on the Council’s system and the Council updated Mr X on 7 September 2023.
16. The Council told Mr X that road lining work was dependant on the weather and being able to access the site. The works cannot be completed during wet and rainy condition, or when temperatures are too low as this affects the quality of the lining.
17. It said that during the four-week timescale it had provided there had been some extremely wet days and issues with parked vehicles on site during the day and night. This meant the proposed works could not be carried out as intended. The Council apologised that Mr X had not been told the relining work was subject to several considerations. It said it had given a timescale in good faith based on the contractor’s schedule and that matters beyond its control had impacted on service delivery.
18. The Council noted some of the lining work had been done and said the remaining work would be completed as the opportunity arose.
19. As Mr X was not satisfied with the Council’s response he has asked the Ombudsman to investigate his complaint. He was unhappy it had taken almost a year to repaint the yellow lines and wanted the Council to regularly monitor the area and start to issue penalty notices to deter people from parking on the lines. Mr X says the illegally parked cars near his home cause him significant inconvenience and stress. He is visually impaired and unable to see vehicles coming down the street due to cars parked on single and double yellow lines.
20. In response to my enquiries the Council says there is no active programme for refreshing road linings. It is a reactive service. When it receives requests officers check the area and determine whether the lines need refreshing. If they do, the job is then passed to the Council’s lining contractor and added to their programme of works. The Council says that as lining is weather dependant most refresh lining occurs during the spring and summer and reduces through autumn and winter.
21. The Council does not consider there was a delay between when the work was requested and when it was completed as this was an extremely wet period. It instructed the contractors on 7 September 2023, and the contractors say they first attended the site on 10 October 2023. They were only able to complete half the job due to parked cars and say they returned on 18 October 2023 to complete the work. They were unable to carry out any work during this visit due to parked cars but returned on 2 and 7 November 2023 and completed the work.
22. The Council says enforcement officers visit the area on average three times a week on various days and times. It notes there are no parking restrictions on Mr X’s street (Street 1), the yellow lines are on the adjacent street (Street 2). It says enforcement officers can visually check the relevant section of Street 2, where it meets Street 3, as they walk along Street 3. If there are no cars parked on the yellow lines they will not walk down Street 2 and will continue along the Street 3.
23. It also notes that loading and unloading can take place on yellow lines for up to 30 minutes. The Council says officers will allow a five-minute observation period to establish whether loading/unloading is taking place. If there is no activity a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) will be issued. As there are retail units on the Street 2, the Council says there is a regular flow of vehicles collecting from there.
24. According to the Council’s records enforcement officers visited Street 2 on 575 occasions last year, and Street 3 on 1,396 occasions.
25. The Council has also provided detail of the PCNs issued to vehicles in the area in the last 12 months. It has issued 10 PCNs to vehicles on Street 2, 43 PCNs to vehicles on Street 3 and a further 10 PCNs to vehicles on another neighbouring street.

Analysis

26. Mr X complains that enforcement officers do not visit this area and enforce the parking restrictions. However the Council’s records show officers do routinely visit the streets near Mr X’s home and have issued numerous PCNs to vehicles parked on the yellow lines. The records also show that on many of these visits officers did not witness any infractions.
27. I recognise that Mr X is frustrated by the number of different cars parked in the area throughout the day, particularly if they are parked illegally, but we would not expect the Council to have an enforcement officer continuously patrol this one area. I consider the Council’s actions to monitor the parking on the streets near Mr X’s home were appropriate.
28. The Council says Mr X asked it to repaint the lines in August 2023 and refers to a two-month period between September and November 2023 when its contractors tried to complete the works. As the contractors were hampered by wet weather and parked cars, this does not appear to be an excessive period to complete the works.
29. However, the documentation provided shows the Council told Mr X in January 2023 that it had asked for the single and double yellow lines be repainted. It then confirmed it had chased this up in February 2023, and in May 2023 said it had passed the job to new contractors. The Council confirmed in July 2023 it was awaiting confirmation of a timeframe for the works. It then confirmed in August 2023 it was meeting with the new contractors.
30. This means it was ten months between the Council agreeing to repaint the lines and the work being completed. This is a significant delay, particularly as the Council says that most lines are repainted during the spring and summer when the weather is warmer and drier. The Council missed the optimum time to carry out the work which led to further delay due to wet weather in the autumn. I consider this delay amounts to fault.
31. Having identified fault I must consider whether this has caused Mr X a significant injustice. Mr X experienced frustration and uncertainty as a result of the delay in repainting the yellow lines and was put to unnecessary time and trouble in pursuing this matter.

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Agreed action

32. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 in recognition of the frustration and uncertainty the delay in refreshing the yellow lines in the streets around his home caused.
33. The Council should take this action within one month of the final decision and provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

34. The Council’s delay in repainting the yellow lines amounts to fault. This fault caused Mr X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman