Permit scheme for road
works and street works
London Borough of Newham to
benefit from London's new Permit Scheme for Road Works and Street
Works.
From 5 September 2011, The London Borough of Newham,
and seven other London Boroughs, will join with 17 other London
Boroughs and Transport for London (TfL) who are already operating
the London Permit Scheme (LoPS).
Prior to LoPS, local authorities had limited powers to control
where, when and for how long, roads were dug up, regardless of the
chaos they caused. Since the inception of the scheme there has been
a reduction in the disruption caused by road works in central
London as for the first time councils are able to control when road
works are undertaken.
It was estimated there were around one million holes dug in
London's roads each year, with little or no regulation, and most
utilities were only required to give short notice of upcoming
works. 90% of works were carried out with less than 10 days notice
to the highway authority. Each year in the London Borough of Newham
408kms of roads are dug up approximately 9,500 times.
The granting of permits gives the local authority more power to
coordinate the works and set timescales within which the works need
to be completed. A permit will cost the utilities up to £240 per
roadwork, and these fees cover the authority's costs to operate the
scheme. Co-operative working can then also be encouraged to ensure
that multiple jobs are carried out at the same time thus reducing
problems for all road users.
Fines are given by issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for non
compliance without the need to go to court, meaning any punishment
is swifter and less bureaucratic. The council will however be
working with the utility companies to improve working
practices.
Whilst still in its early stages, the scheme has already been
delivering benefits to London businesses and residents. The London
Borough of Newham expects that this will be repeated in our borough
and we will continue to seek further methods of reducing
disruptions caused by road works to the benefit or our residents
and all road users.