Councillors support new permit scheme for companies working on Lincolnshire roads

A new permit scheme for utility companies wishing to work on Lincolnshire’s roads is one step closer after county councillors gave their support to the proposals.

Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee has recommended that the tougher restrictions on roadworks be adopted after a meeting held on July 11.

Companies would need to apply for a permit before starting work under the proposals.

The Lincolnshire Permit Scheme would apply to firms working on new developments where planning permission has been granted and affects a highway, and to the council’s own road maintenance contractors.

It would be delivered by Lincolnshire County Council, which as the Permit Authority, would charge a fee for the issue of a permit or the variation of an existing permit.

The proposed scheme has not been well received by some utility companies, with Virgin Media and Anglian Water both raising concerns.

Virgin Media in particular said that they were “disappointed” that the permit scheme applied to all roads in the county, suggesting that the county council should not charge for certain stretches of highway.

Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Councillor for Highways and Transportation, previously said: “We are keen to ensure that our roads are open as much as possible for motorists to use, so we will employ staff to make sure this is working effectively.

“A huge amount of works on our network are actually carried out by utility companies and not the council – last year 80% of all works were those of water, gas and electricity suppliers.

“This scheme will help us manage any activity on the highway, control the timing and duration of works and make sure they are completed to a good standard.

“While we appreciate some works are emergencies, this will give us the option of issuing penalties when unnecessary inconvenience has been caused, such as not completing jobs on time or having to revisit works.”

A final decision will be made by Lincolnshire County Council’s Executive on September 6.