Agenda item

Verbal Update

An update on the implementation of a Lane Rental Scheme for North Yorkshire was given by Alex Hollifield, Team Leader for Network Information and Compliance. The key points as highlighted below include:

 

·       Lane Rental is a scheme that allows Highway Authorities to charge utilities and other third-party contractors for occupying road space on the busiest roads at the busiest times. Highway Authority works are also chargeable.

 

·       Charges are set at a maximum of £2500 per day, dependent on the level of disruption caused. This is to incentivise Statutory Undertakers carrying out works to do it outside of disruptive times, leading to overall minimised disruption on the network.

 

·       The proposed Lane Rental Scheme will be overseen by a governance group made up of Utilities and the Authority, with any surplus generated from the scheme to be reinvested in network innovation projects, minus any scheme costs. A minimum of 50% of this is to be reinvested into Highway Maintenance, with the other 50% to be invested in innovation projects. Any Lane Rental scheme put in place would operate alongside the existing North Yorkshire Permit Scheme.

 

·       Examples of the type of innovation projects used by other local authorities include Kent County Council carrying out drone surveys as part of rapid investigations of roadworks and infrastructure conditions, reducing the need for physical traffic management on the road and resulting in faster maintenance response times. Furthermore, Surrey County Council introduced intelligent traffic management systems, utilising AI to optimise traffic signal timings based on the traffic flow and congestion patterns.

 

·       The objectives of the proposed Lane Rental scheme are to minimise disruption and encourage faster, smarter working, as well as reducing the environmental impact as works should be completed to a high standard first time.

 

·       As it stands, a detailed proposal has been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) for Secretary of State Approval. 7.25% of the overall network has been proposed as subject to Lane Rental Charges. A Traffic Sensitive Street Review was required as part of the application.

 

·       A functioning permit scheme needs to be demonstrated, with the latest scheme report rated years 4 to 6 as ‘Excellent’ despite a huge increase in permits due to the introduction of fibre internet schemes.

 

 

·       Emergency works are exempt from Lane Rental charges in the first 48 hours only, to encourage work to get done as soon as possible.

 

·       If successful, North Yorkshire will look to implement the scheme at the end of 2025.

 

·       Next steps include the set up and recruitment of a Lane Rental team alongside the existing streetworks permit team, finalising the governance structure for allocation of surplus funds and finalising the environmental protection process.

 

Following this, key points raised in the discussion that followed included:

 

·       There were queries around the charging regime for the proposed Lane Rental scheme and how the position of the works on the highway (e.g. in the carriageway compared to in the verge) would dictate the level of charge that could be levied.

 

 

 

·       Further context was requested on the type of roads that would fall under the proposed Lane Rental scheme.

 

·       There were concerns that roads falling outside the proposed Lane Rental scheme would be deprioritised by utility companies and third-party contractors with their resources directed towards the routes included in Lane Rental because of the financial charges that could be levied. In response, it was emphasised that the existing streetworks permit scheme would continue in North Yorkshire to operate on non-Lane Rental routes, with a maximum daily charge of £2000 available.

 

·       A comment was made about starting with the strongest possible financial charges as a general principle for network compliance.

 

·       The desire for efficient working was seen as a key aspect of the work of the utilities companies and third party contractors when carrying out works in the road.

 

·       Ways of submitting evidence of utilities and other third party contractors occupying road space to assist in the charging process was discussed.

 

·       There was a general view that the potential to add extra capacity within the Inspections team as part of future plans for the implementation of the proposed Lane Rental scheme should be welcomed. To understand this area further, particularly financially for the Council, it was requested that a future report on the Lane Rental Scheme (if approved) and the proposed fee changes to the streetworks permit Scheme come to a future meeting of the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny committee for consideration.

 

It was resolved that:

 

i)               The update on the Lane Rental Scheme be noted.

 

ii)              A report be requested on the plans for implementation of the Lane Rental Scheme (if given approval to commence) and the future plans for the North Yorkshire Streetworks Permit scheme.