Luton Borough Council (23 003 769)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 26 Jun 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because we are satisfied with the actions already taken by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr Y complained the Council blocked his car into a car park outside his flat during pre-planned road maintenance without warning. Mr Y says this meant he was unable to use his vehicle, causing him inconvenience.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.
My assessment
- Mr Y complained to the Council after he was unable to use the road outside his flat to leave his property due to highway maintenance work.
- The Council responded in May 2023, admitting fault, that it had not sent out letters to warn residents of the planned works as it had thought there were no houses on the road. It admitted it should have made residents in the flats aware and that this had not been done. It apologised for the inconvenience caused to Mr Y and said it would learn from this error and had notified its staff of the issue so as to prevent it from happening again. Mr Y then approached us in June.
- While Mr Y was caused inconvenience by the Council’s fault, the Council has recognised the error, apologised, and has taken action to prevent the recurrence of the issue. This is a proportionate response to Mr Y’s complaint and the injustice caused to him. Consequently, we are satisfied with the action the Council has taken and we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions already taken by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman