Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council installing a bus stop outside the complainant’s home. there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council erecting a bus stop pole and road markings outside his home. He says this has led to passengers waiting for the bus sitting on the low boundary wall and abuse when he has asked them to leave his property alone. He says there was no need for a stop in this location and that he was not given an opportunity to object in 2023 when it was decided.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council notified him in 2024 that it was carrying out road marking works and erecting a bus stop pole outside his home. He says that he had been unaware of the proposal before this. He objects to the siting of the bus stop as he believes it was not necessary and has resulted in persons sitting on his low wall whilst waiting for the bus. He says he has received abuse when he has asked them to move.
6. The Council decided to mark out the new stop following advice from its transport officers and the bus provider about unmarked request stops on the road being a potential traffic hazard. The site was surveyed in 2023 and the location identified by engineers based on the proximity of bends and other hazards and distance from other stops. The Council says a doorstep consultation with residents of two affected properties was carried out. Mr X says he does not believe this took place.
7. The Council is the highway authority and it may place infrastructure on the highway without formal consultation or objections from the public. The Council says the previous request stops were unmarked and a potential hazard and the new road markings clarify the situation for residents. The bus stop pole is not on Mr X’s private property and it cannot be responsible for actions of individual members of the public.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
9. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the procedure the Council used for introducing a formal bus stop.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council installing a bus stop outside the complainant’s home. there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman