Agenda item

Considered -

A report by Allan McVeigh, Head of Network Strategy, Business and Environmental Services.

            Allan McVeigh presented the report, with key points as summarised below:

·         The Council’s permit scheme was established in February 2018 to increase the efficient running of the highway network by proactively managing works on the highways

·         There are four main types of permits: major, standard, minor and emergency

·         There is a team that checks the submitted permits to ensure that any proposed works do not pose any co-ordination clashes and do not overly inconvenience the travelling public

·         A team of 10 Street works inspectors monitor the works and undertake permit compliance inspections

·         The reinstatement of the road or footpath surface after works can be temporary but permanent reinstatement must be completed within six months of finishing the works

·         Where emergency works need to be undertaken, it is requested that the utilities company contacts the team directly

·         There has been a big increase in the short duration works associated with fibre optic cabling schemes.  The four major schemes in the county are Superfast North Yorkshire, NYnet, Cityfibre (formerly Talk Talk) and KCOM

·         Many utilities companies suspended works during lockdown.  Where possible, they were encouraged to go ahead to avoid a backlog in works post-lockdown.

There followed a discussion, during the course of which County Councillors made the following points:

·         Good communication ahead of works taking place is key.  A number of examples were given where works had been undertaken at short notice and with no explanation what was being done and when it would be completed

·         Often Parish, Town, District and County Councillors are not informed of works

·         The reinstatement of the highways after work has been completed is often of poor quality.  It can be unsightly and out of keeping with the area.  It can also mean that the reinstatement quickly de-grades and leads to pot holing

·         Query as to whether 6 months was too long for the permanent reinstatement of the highway

·         There was an incident recently in the committee area where emergency work was done immediately outside a vaccination centre, impeding access

·         Concerns that there may be an incentive for some utilities companies to describe works as being ‘emergency’, when they are not, in order to get them done when they want them done

·         Assurances were sought that, in urban areas, the work undertaken by one utilities provider did not then lead to damage to other utilities in that place and so further work being done in the future that could have been avoided

·         Query as to whether more could be done to compel the utilities companies to better co-ordinate their work and so avoid the situation of the same area of the highway being dug up multiple times in a short time period

·         Large scale works to highways and pathways are often started and then paused for days and even weeks, with no explanation.

In response to the issues raised by committee members, Allan McVeigh said that he would welcome the details of specific concerns raised about incidents in Pateley Bridge, Skipton and other areas so that he could provide a detailed response to the councillors concerned.  In addition, he said that there were national guidelines in place for reinstatement works that were monitored by the 10 Street Works inspectors.

County Councillor Stanley Lumley said that the management of works on the highways by utilities companies was a massive challenge for the Council.  He recognised the good work being done by the Network Information and Compliance Team, despite the limited resources that they had available.

County Councillor Carl Les said that the Council was going to setup an arms-length highways company and that all county councillors could engage is discussions about the service standards that we want to set. 

County Councillor Mike Chambers MBE summed up and thanked the officers for attending.

 Resolved –

a.    Thank  the officers for attending and answering the questions posed by the committee

b.    Detailed responses to the specific concerns raised be followed up by Allan McVeigh and reported back to the county councillors concerned

c.     Come back to the committee in 6 months’ time to provide an update on how the scheme is working and any issues arising from the post-pandemic recovery.