New crack down on utility companies causing potholes

The Government has introduced new rules to clamp down on utility companies for leaving potholes behind after carrying out street works.

New regulations came into force on Saturday (April 1) for a performance-based inspection regime to ensure utility companies resurface roads to the best possible standard after street works.

Ministers say that this will potentially prevent thousands of potholes from developing in the future.

Currently, about 30% of utility companies’ street works are inspected regardless of how well those street works are carried out. Under the new “street works regime” utility companies will be assessed on the quality of their road repairs after carrying out street works, with the best companies inspected less and the worse-performing companies inspected more, based on their performance.

As a result, companies that leave behind roads in poor condition could see 100% of their street works inspected.

With highway authorities now charging £50 per defect inspection and a further £120 for follow-up inspections, ministers are hoping that poor performing companies will now be incentivised to perform better to avoid incurring high financial charges.

While the average failure rate for street works by utility companies is currently 9%, some of the worst performers are failing inspections by as much as 63%.

Other reforms in the inspection framework include mandating better live updates on roadworks to help drivers plan ahead.

The move will focus on telecom companies in particular, which the Government says is the worst performing sector – responsible for nearly 13% of poor street work repairs.

The measures, it says, will ensure these companies are checked more regularly until they can bring about noticeable improvements.

Transport secretary Mark Harper said: “We’re investing more than £5.5 billion over this Parliament to maintain roads up and down the country, and today’s measures are yet another example of how this Government is on the side of motorists and other road users, leaving no stone unturned in the fight against the plague of potholes.

“The new street works regime is a victory for all road users, with motorists and cyclists able to enjoy smoother, safer, and less congested journeys as we continue to level up transport across the country and grow the economy.”

More than £14bn to fix backlog

The new regulations and funding come after a report highlighted how local authority highway teams in England and Wales require more than £14bn to fix the backlog of road repairs. 

This year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, published by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), made bleak reading for fleets facing costly repairs for pothole damage.

Average highway maintenance budgets across England and Wales increased by 4.5% to £25.8 million per authority. However, more than half (53%) of local authorities reported a cut or freeze in their highway maintenance budget.

In fact, when inflation is taken into account, the total highway maintenance budget of £4.33bn represents a cut in real terms.

The rising costs, due to these inflationary pressures, have resulted in engineers being forced to postpone or cancel road schemes to make savings.

The data also showed that in the last year, the gap between what local authorities received and what they said they would have needed to keep roads to their own target conditions and prevent further decline is now £1.3bn – a jump of more than 20% on last year’s figure and the highest amount reported in 28 years of successive ALARM surveys.

The Government announced an extra £200m for pothole repairs in the Budget.  

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “Potholes not only cause expensive damage to vehicles but are potentially lethal to those on two wheels.

“Utility companies have a responsibility to ensure roads are properly repaired after carrying out essential maintenance, but unfortunately far too many roads are left in a substandard condition.

“Introducing new regulations to encourage repairs to be done to a higher standard first time around will benefit all road users.”

Accurate data on live works

The new measures being announced by the Government also require utility companies and local authorities to provide the Department for Transport’s street manager service with more up to date and accurate data on live works, including at weekends.

Companies will be asked to provide information about when works start and stop at weekends and all local authorities must share start/stop information about their works.

This will update sat navs and other apps so company car and vans drivers are aware of where street works are and can avoid those areas.