Fines to double for firms that leave roads in ruins
ROGUE utility firms that leave roads damaged will be hit with bigger financial penalties from tomorrow under a crackdown on the ‘plague of potholes’.
Penalties for failing to return roads to their original state after street works will more than double.
And the number of inspections carried out on the worst offenders will more than triple, so they will be forced to fix more of the cracks and craters they leave behind.
The aim is to ensure that firms get road repairs right the first time. It is hoped that this will also cut congestion and allow for quicker journeys.
While the average failure rate for street works by utility companies is currently 9 per cent, some of the worst offenders are failing inspections by as much as 63 per cent.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Transport Secretary Mark Harper will unveil the regime today.
It comes into force tomorrow and is aimed at helping town halls in England and Wales tackle the estimated £14billion backlog of pothole repairs, which would take 11 years to clear. Around one in every nine miles of local road is now in ‘poor condition’. The announcement is a boost for the Daily Mail’s campaign to end the nation’s pothole plague, which is costing drivers millions in repair bills and putting cyclists’ lives at risk.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt praised our campaign earlier this month as he unveiled an extra £200million for pothole repairs in his Spring Budget. At present, when a telecoms, water or electricity company resurfaces roads after digging them up, town halls inspect 30 per cent of the work done by all firms in their jurisdiction regardless of how well they carry out street works.
The firm must pay the council £50 for the initial inspection and £47.50 for any subsequent ones, as well as any costs for repairs. But from tomorrow, subsequent inspection penalties will be raised to £120. And inspection rates will vary according to a company’s performance. Those which rarely fail inspections would see the rate drop to as little as 20 per cent, with the worst offenders facing inspections on up to 100 per cent of the works they carry out.
They can be responsible for hundreds of projects across the country, meaning the cost of botching street works could become several thousand pounds more overall.