Gloucestershire County Council is stepping up its crackdown on utility companies that dig up roads and leave behind damage. In a clear warning to those responsible, the council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Joe Harris, has launched a renewed push to hold utility firms to account and demand higher standards.
With utility companies responsible for 80% of roadworks across the county, those that fail to follow the rules are now being hit with hefty fines and the Council says this is just the beginning.
The law requires utility companies to restore any area they work on to the same condition it was in before the work began. This council’s message is clear: if they don’t do this, they’ll pay.
In the last year alone:
- 27,000 roadwork jobs were monitored across Gloucestershire
- 2,600 fines were issued to utility companies for non-compliance
- 11,000 inspections were completed by our small but expert team of Street Works Inspectors
Councillor Joe Harris, Cabinet Member for Highways, said:
“Poor quality repairs and not turning up to finish the job is totally unacceptable and going forward we want to make sure utility companies know it, when they don’t complete a job properly it’s council tax payers who are losing out. We’re fining firms that don’t follow the rules and every pound from those fines is being reinvested to improve the very roads they’ve damaged. We’ll be pragmatic and work with them on more complex issues, but the message is clear: they need to do better.
“This is a gripe for many residents across Gloucestershire which leaves town centres looking tatty and beauty spots looking shabby. I know in my own patch in Cirencester we’re still waiting on a utility company to return and finish work they started over a year ago! That’s just one example of why I’ve made tackling this issue head on a priority for the council.”
(Pic: Yay Images)
