News & Features

Calls for Utility and Construction Companies to be held accountable for Roadwork Delays 

Posted in General News on Monday, November 11th, 2024

Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois has put forward a new Roadworks Bill which will give local councils the power to block roadworks and issue larger fines if roadworks are not completed within the agreed upon schedules. 

Mark Francois said that councils across the country should be able to charge a lane rental fee to utility and construction companies because many of them show a lack of urgency in getting the work done regardless of the inconvenience it causes. 

In a speech to the House of Commons on Monday 4th November, Francois said that the proposed bill would give town and city councils new rights to refuse roadworks if they believe it will cause 'unacceptable disruption' to drivers and other road users. Francois stated: “Let us collectively ‘can the cones’ and keep the traffic flowing as much as we practically can.” The aim is to ease congestion and reduce the amount of time that drivers spend in traffic caused by delayed roadworks. 

First of all, local highways authorities would be given more powers to control who would be given permits to carry out roadworks. The proposed Bill would also allow the authorities to refuse on the grounds of 'unacceptable disruption' for drivers. The Bill would also change the penalty system for roadworks that are overrunning and unnecessarily delaying drivers. 

According to Francois, the current fines “are hardly likely to be a deterrent to major utility companies or housing developers, some of whom just accept them on the rare occasions they're actually levied as a cost of doing business. The Bill would significantly increase the penalties for overrunning beyond the schedule agreed when the permit was first granted.” The proposed Roadworks Bill will come before MPs on July 11th 2025. 
 

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