The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about street lighting and 5G towers because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
The complaint
Mrs Y complained the Council has failed to remove LED streetlights and 5G towers within its area which Mrs Y considers unsafe and too bright.
Mrs Y says she avoids leaving her home after dark and finds LED car headlights too bright. She is concerned for her health and safety.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) 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 information Mrs Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs Y is concerned about the impact to her health from 5G towers and LED streetlights in her area. She is concerned this causes radiation and could make her and others unwell. The Council says the streetlights and 5G towers are safe and it does not intend either to remove or replace those in place. It considered in its final response removing just the LED streetlight outside Mrs Y’s property, but concluded that as this would not solve the issue Mrs Y had raised, this would not be of benefit.
As the Council properly considered Mrs Y’s complaint, including other options on how to resolve her concerns, even though it then rejected these alternatives, it is unlikely the Ombudsman would find fault in this complaint. We will not investigate.
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