Utility companies hit back at scheme for roadworks
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• by Cliff Caswell Utility companies have slammed a new congestionbusting initiative which gives local authorities the power to charge them for roadworks in cities.
The lane rental pilot schemes, which are undergoing trials in Middlesbrough and the London borough of Camden, have been branded as an unjust and unfair tax on essential work.
But ministers insist that the schemes could help alleviate congestion and believe they will be welcomed by hard-pressed hauliers harassed by hold-ups.
Local authorities already have the power to charge utilities companies if road works are not completed in reasonable time; under the New Roads and Street Works Act the lane rental scheme allows councils to charge utilities firms by the day for working on the road.
Leading the criticism against this latest initiative, the National Joint Utilities Group (NJUG) highlights research carried out by pollsters ICM which shows that less than one person in 20 thinks that roadworks are the main cause of snarl-ups.
NJUG chairman Bill Linskey says: "These figures show that to tax utilities—and utilities alone— for contributing to congestion would not only be grossly unfair, it would do nothing to address the main causes of congestion."
However, Transport Minister John Spellar believes hauliers will welcome the new schemes: "Like the rest of the travelling public, hauliers are inconvenienced by traffic jams and I think these schemes will be welcomed by them.
"Delays cause uncertainty—they have an effect on schedules and drivers' hours, and they also have an impact on the people the hauliers are delivering to. We have really got to see some action; that is what the public wants."