Leicester City Council (23 015 058)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Feb 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a request for parking restrictions to be implemented. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about how the Council has dealt with road users parking their cars outside his garage, preventing him from accessing his car. Mr X would like the Council to either install bollards or double yellow lines outside the front of his garage.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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 and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X has a garage which faces a road next to several other garages. Mr X asked the Council to introduce measures to prevent road users from parking outside the garages and blocking his access.
- The Council considered Mr X’s complaint and spoke with officers from Highways and Housing. It found that Housing was planning to introduce a residents parking scheme in the area which it hoped would alleviate parking issues. It said it could not introduce bollards outside his garage as they would obstruct the highway and it would not implement double yellow lines because they would cross in front of other garages and other neighbours have said they do not want double yellow lines there.
- While I understand Mr X may be disappointed with the Council’s decision, it is for the Council to decide whether and when to introduce parking restrictions. We are not an appeal body, and it is not our role to review the Council’s decision. As I have seen no evidence to suggest that fault affected the Council’s decision, we will not investigate the complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman