Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s intention to proceed with a local infrastructure project without putting in place improvements to the existing road network which Mr X believes are required. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating at this stage.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has failed to include upgrades to the existing local road network as part of a scheme for a new section of road in the area. He believes the new road will impact on a section of road nearby and increase traffic and delays.
2. Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s conduct in dealing with the matter and questions the accuracy of its statements to various bodies. He also complains the Council refused to deal with his complaint about the matter.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining.
8. The injustice Mr X describes relates to the impact of the new road scheme in the event there are no upgrades to other parts of the road network in the area. But this is highly speculative for several reasons, not least that the Council has not yet granted permission for the scheme and may never do so. And even if it does, the new road may not have the impact on traffic which Mr X believes it will, or the Council may decide to put in place the improvements Mr X suggests. But there is no absolute requirement for it to do so and we cannot recommend a remedy for something which has not yet happened.
9. Large infrastructure projects such as these often take months or years to complete and it will therefore be some time before Mr X experiences any actual impact from the scheme. If the Council confirms its decision to grant permission for the scheme, and if Mr X believes he has suffered a significant injustice as a result, he may wish to raise a new complaint. If once the complaint has exhausted the Council’s complaints process Mr X remains unhappy he may refer the matter to us and we will consider whether to investigate it. But we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating the matter now.
10. I note Mr X is concerned about the amount of money the Council has spent on the scheme to date but this is not an issue which is subject to investigation as it affects taxpayers generally; it is therefore caught by the exclusion set out at Paragraph 5.
11. While Mr X is also unhappy the Council failed to respond to his complaint its reasoning for this is largely the same as ours for not investigating his complaint at this time. It is in any event a peripheral issue and it would not be a good use of our resources to investigate this point in isolation.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman