Council to get tough on 'disruptive roadworks'

A highway authority has vowed to make use of recent reforms to the inspection regime to hold utility companies to account for ‘disruptive roadworks’ after issuing hundreds of charges against overrunning works.

Gloucestershire County Council said that up to 80% of disruptive roadworks in its area are caused by utility companies and contractors and that, while these companies require a licence (permit) to work on the highway, in some cases the works overrun or the roads and pavements are left in an unsatisfactory state.

It said that in the last year, it issued 310 charges against utilities for overrunning works.

The council pledged to use recent government reforms to introduce a performance-based inspection regime to ensure taxpayers' money isn’t spent on fixing problems caused by private companies.

Gloucestershire will now step up its targeted inspections to monitor the lowest performing utility companies even more closely, with several telecoms companies already subject to council-issued improvement plans.

Cllr Dom Morris, cabinet member for highways and flooding, said: ‘For too long, the poor work carried out by utilities companies have been a blight on Gloucestershire’s roads.

'Delays and disruption have inconvenienced residents, businesses and been a burden on taxpayers when they need fixing again all too soon.

‘We welcome the new regulations that will help us raise the standards of road repairs across the county. We will continue to monitor roadworks carried out by utility companies and issue fines when needed.’

In March, Clive Bairsto, chief executive officer and chairman of Street Works UK, which represents utility companies, said he felt that ‘a very close working relationship between the utilities and local authorities had developed after the pandemic'.

He said the new Street Manager system - which is used to register street works - would help by providing visibility of ‘shall we say, excursions of performance in utilities and where there has been a predilection to find fault by authorities where it was probably not reasonable’.