The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to paint a section of double yellow line regulations which Mr X requested for highway safety reasons. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to install a section of double yellow line parking restrictions outside his driveway to prevent parked vehicles from restricting his visibility when using the drive. He says the Council should do this for safety reasons as there is a school nearby and he is aware of near misses with school children in the area.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says the Council should introduce a section of yellow lines outside his driveway to prevent his access view being obstructed by parked cars when he exits in his car. He says the local Police also recommended that action was preferred for safety reasons.
Mr X asked the Council to consider the introduction of yellow lines but it declined his request. It says that a short section of lines would not reduce the overall risk in the area and that the whole turning head where Mr X lives would require restricted parking for an improvement to safety to be justified. Any parking restrictions would require a traffic regulation order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. This would involve consultation with local residents who may not be in favour of parking restrictions.
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.
The Council is the highway authority and it must decide whether or not to introduce a traffic regulation order to introduce new highway regulations. It has a power to do this but it is not a statutory duty. It is for the Council’s own professional highways staff to decide where new regulations should be applied.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to paint a section of double yellow line regulations which Mr X requested for highway safety reasons. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman