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Tough new powers will tackle disruption caused by digging up the road

DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT News Release (081) issued by The Government News Network on 11 July 2007

New powers which enable councils to cut the congestion and disruption caused by roadworks have been introduced, Transport Minister Rosie Winterton announced today.

The regulations, laid in Parliament today, will enable local authorities to minimise the impact roadworks have on motorists, pedestrians, businesses and local residents.

And from early next year councils will be able to use additional powers to impose conditions and co-ordinate all roadworks.

Rosie Winterton said:

"There's nothing more annoying than a road being dug up time after time in the same place, or seeing work taking place at the most inconvenient times for road users. Of course, companies like gas or water suppliers need to carry out repairs and improvements but it should be possible to co-ordinate their work better, and do it when the road isn't so busy.

"These regulations enable local authorities to minimise the level of disruption to the public - for example, councils will be able to co-ordinate work by two separate companies and prevent work being carried out during the busy rush hour.

"We want councils and utility companies to work together to reduce disruption. These regulations will help authorities plan ahead, ensure the works don't take longer than necessary and give new powers to allow them to issue fines where necessary."

Notes for editors

1. The regulations being laid in Parliament today have been introduced under the Traffic Management Act 2004.

2. For the purposes of this press release only, 'roadworks' refers to both street-works and roadworks carried out by statutory and non-statutory undertakers.

3. The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) sets out the regulatory regime for works in the street carried out by undertakers. This was amended by the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA).

4. Statutory undertakers (mainly utility companies) have a statutory right to place, maintain or repair apparatus in or under the highway.

5. The following Regulations have been laid;-

* The Street Works (Registers, Notices, Directions and Designations) (England) Regulations;

* The Street Works (Fixed Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations.

6. The first replaces an existing set of Regulations and implements some of the amendments to the NRSWA made by the TMA.

7. The second introduces an alternative means of dealing with seven offences under NRSWA, which allows a highway authority to give a fixed penalty notice instead of taking a case to the Magistrates' Court.

8. The third set of regulations are The Traffic Management Permit Scheme (England) Regulations 2007 which will be laid in parliament shortly. These regulations are affirmative - they will be subject to parliamentary debate and as such will not be finalised until this parliamentary process is completed.

9. These regulations allow a highway authority to apply to the Secretary of State for permission to operate a permit scheme on its roads. The Permits scheme strengthens the tools at local authorities' disposal to carry out their network management duty under the Act. In developing the new regulations, the DfT has worked with highways authorities and utilities representative body: HAUC(UK).The proposed maximum fee for a permit will be £240. Fees would be set by local authorities and would depend on the scale of the works and the predicted disruption. All fees revenue will be used by an Authority to run the utility side of the permit scheme.

10. All these Regulations will only apply to local highway authorities and undertakers working in England. The Welsh Assembly Government is planning to lay similar regulations.

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