The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking provision. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our investigation.
The complaint
Dr Y and Mr X complain the Council has unfairly refused permission to install a dropped kerb outside their property. They say several other properties on the road have dropped kerbs and it is unfair that they are not able to do the same. They also complain about the time it took the Council to respond to their complaint. This has caused them frustration and inconvenience.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information the complainants and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Dr Y and Mr Y applied to the Council for permission to install a dropped kerb outside their property. The Council refused the dropped kerb as their driveway was less than five metres long, which is required in the Council’s policy to ensure cars do not overhang onto the pavement Dr Y and Mr X complained in February 2021, saying it was unfair as other properties along the road had dropped kerbs, with gardens less than five metres long.
The Council’s complaint response in April said this would likely have been done under an older policy, which had been changed more than 10 years ago. It acknowledged their perspective but said it would not change its decision. It also apologised for the time it took for the Council to respond to the complaint before referring Dr Y and Mr X to us in October.
Analysis We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
The Council has considered Dr Y and Mr X’s application in accordance with its policy, which says driveways must be at least five metres in length for a dropped kerb to be installed. Dr Y and Mr X’s driveway is shorter than the required length. As the Council properly considered the matter, it is unlikely the Ombudsman would find fault in this complaint.
As we are not considering the substantive matter of complaint, it would not be a good use of public resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling.
Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Dr Y and Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman