Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about new housing developments and road closures and traffic diversions in Mr X’s locale. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about road closures and traffic diversions in place while developers build new houses and utility companies dig up the roads to carry out works. He says the Council should not be granting planning permission to developers for such high-density developments so that utilities are pushed on to the public highway and that it needs to co-ordinate with other agencies to ensure a basic level of care towards existing residents.

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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
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (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, including the Council’s response to the complaint.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In responding to Mr X’s complaint about these matters, the Council clarified that it is the District Council and not the County Council which grants planning permission for developments and that works by utility companies are not governed by planning permissions or conditions.
6. It explained to Mr X that there will always be some level of disruption while new developments are built but that it works with developers to minimise this. It also referred to information in an earlier response it had sent Mr X about a similar complaint.
7. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and while Mr X may remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response to his complaint, there is insufficient evidence to suggest fault by the Council which warrants investigation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman