Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Mr X’s reports of nuisance caused by advertising flags at a business close to his home. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to take appropriate action to address the noise nuisance and visual impact of advertising flags situated at a site adjacent to his home. He says the Council has made a poor decision and that no consideration was given to his feelings and wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council considered Mr X’s complaint about nuisance from advertising flags at a business close to his home from both a planning and environmental health (EH) perspective. Unfortunately, having done so, it has decided it has no grounds to take any formal action.
7. It explained the limited number of factors it can consider when determining applications for advertisements and that it had properly followed procedures when assessing the flag application. The case was referred to the EH Team for investigation which concluded the noise from the flags did not amount to a statutory nuisance. The Council also discussed matters with the business concerned to try and resolve matters for Mr X.
8. It is not our role to act as a point of appeal against decisions made by councils with which complainants disagree. We cannot question council decisions if they have followed the right steps and considered the relevant evidence and information. While Mr X may be disappointed with the Council’s decision that it has no grounds on which to take enforcement action against the flags, there is no evidence to suggest fault affected it.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman