The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
The complaint
Mrs Y complained the Council has failed to properly maintain the highway in her area and has refused to install signage leading to the road she lives on.
Mrs Y says she feels distressed by this and vulnerable when driving due to the risk she says is caused by the potholes. Mrs Y says she feels the Council are neglecting her 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) 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mrs Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
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.
In this case, the Council has considered the issues Mrs Y has raised about the road surface. It has explained its rationale, that while it would like ideally to resurface many rural roads, due to budget constraints, such roads are not a priority for significant resurfacing. It has agreed to continue to monitor the area for defects which would require work.
The Council also explained why it had not installed a street sign on Mrs Y’s road, saying it was a minor road which often would mean it would not be officially named.
As the Council properly considered Mrs Y’s complaint about the road resurfacing and signage and been able to explain its stance, it is unlikely the Ombudsman would find fault in this complaint. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman