Inquiry into rural repairs chaos for drivers
THE BOSS of a water firm which this year reported a £281m profit has pledged to launch an investigation into why repair works frequently left others facing “chaos”.
A meeting of Local Government North Yorkshire and York heard a major grievance for residents, who paid an average of £385 per household to the utility, was that little or no notice or informations was given about mains repairs and diversions.
Committee members heard many complaints related to the unnecessary closing of roads and the off-hand attitude of contractors employed by the utility firm towards the inconvenience caused.
Richmondshire District Council leader, Coun Yvonne Peacock said parents collecting children from school often faced 15-mile diversions, care home residents missed out on visits while farmers risked missing auctions.
She told the meeting the firm often had ample time to remedy the situation with diversion signs, but failed to do anything.
Coun Peacock said: “It’s continuous and this has been going on and on and on. People going to visit their mother with only a small amount of time and they get within a mile and then get told ‘hard luck mate’.”
The meeting was told while roadworks were a huge issue in rural areas, there were concerns the utility concentrated its investment on large urban areas to hit targets, leaving market towns like Thirsk with poor pipes.
North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton said he had asked his director of highways to highlight any Yorkshire Water-related issues and received “a seven-page rant”.
Mr Flinton said contractors employed by Yorkshire Water had been rated the worst the county council encountered.
The meeting heard that the closing of roads without any need or without any permission from the highways authority causes adverse impact on communities and that investigations were going on into the whys and wherefore of prosecuting contractors for obstructing the highway.
The meeting also heard the issues raised by the council leaders were being treated as very serious, and that directing investment to the right areas was a tough balance to achieve.
Roadworks were also clearly an issue in areas where roads were narrow and constrictions resulted from carrying out works on pipes.
Mr Flinton said: “We clearly need to work harder at local liaison and local planning in order to disrupt the effect on the community.”
The news comes after it was announced that a family of beavers look set to be moved into an enclosed area of the North York Moors in an experiment to see if they can help prevent floods.
Natural England has indicated it will license the five-year Forestry’s Commission project in Cropton Forest to see if the largest rodents, native to Eurasia, which typically weigh more than 20kg, help store more water in the landscape and slow its passage downstream.
It is hoped the beavers, to be brought from Scotland or Norway, will build dams and help maintain ones created as part of the pioneering Slowing the Flow scheme, to reduce the frequency of floods in the Pickering area.