Councillors to discuss ways to reduce roadworks delays

Councillors will meet next week to discuss measures that could reduce the delays and disruption caused by roadworks across Brighton & Hove.

Members of the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee will consider a new approach to incentivise utility companies, such as Southern Water, Southern Gas Networks (SGN), UK Power Networks and phone and broadband providers, to finish work more quickly.

Introducing a lane rental scheme would allow us to bring in additional charges for working on the city’s busiest roads during the busiest times.

How it would work

We currently receive around 20,000 permit applications a year to carry out work on the city’s road network. These come from gas, water, electricity and telecoms companies, as well as our own council teams and other contractors.

Our permit team then coordinate the work and place restrictions on the permits where necessary, to minimise disruption as best we can.

At the moment, the maximum fine for breaking the conditions of the permit is £120 a day.

Introducing a lane rental scheme would mean companies would pay charges of up to £2,500 a day for working on Brighton & Hove’s busiest roads during peak hours.

This would encourage them to work quickly and better coordinate their work with other companies.

Income generated from the scheme would be reinvested back into city transport projects.

Lane rental has been successfully trialled in Kent and London and has shown to significantly speed up how long it takes to complete roadworks. Emergency work in Brighton & Hove takes around 20 days on average. In areas with lane rental schemes, it averages at between 2 and 5 days.

Keeping our city moving

Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport and City Infrastructure, said: “I know how frustrating it can be for people travelling around the city to get stuck in traffic caused by roadworks.

“Utility companies play an important role in maintaining and improving our infrastructure, but it’s vital they finish their work promptly, remove the roadworks and keep the city moving.

“A lane rental scheme would incentivise anyone who wants to carry out work on our roads to do it quickly and at times when it will minimise disruption to residents.

“I am very keen that we apply to the Secretary of State for lane rental for Brighton & Hove and I will be recommending this to Cabinet next month. I very much welcome the opportunity to present the case for lane rental at the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee.”

The Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee can only provide recommendations to Cabinet. A decision on whether to apply to the Secretary of State to apply for powers to develop a lane rental scheme is due to be taken by Cabinet members next month.