East Lancashire motorists 'spending less time delayed by roadworks'

Highways bosses said over the last year the amount of time drivers have had to wait has been cut after they started a scheme to reduce the time roadworks were in place.

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The new system involves anyone wanting to dig up a road getting the county council’s permission first.

Blackburn with Darwen Council, which is in charges of roads in its own borough, said it is also set to put in place a similar permit scheme early next year.

A county council review has shown that time taken to do roadworks has been cut by around 17 per cent, with delays avoided by residents and businesses potentially worth £16.4million to the economy.

County Cllr John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Councils and utility companies have always had the right to do roadworks, but now everyone has to get permission beforehand rather than simply give notice of what they’re intending to do.

“On the face of it that’s quite a small change but it makes a big difference because now our highway regulation team can look at what is being proposed and make improvements before agreeing that the work can go ahead.”

The highway regulation and inspection team coordinates roadworks and carries out site visits once they begin, ensuring that any problems are picked up and resolved.

A charge is made for each permit issued, which covers the cost of administrating the scheme, and more than 33,000 permits were issued between February 2015 and February 2016.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s initiative will be rolled out in February 2017 and will force all companies wanting to undertake street works to apply for permission unless it is an emergency where they have to apply within two hours.

A spokesman for the council said: “The scheme aims to improve the effectiveness of the transport system in Blackburn with Darwenwhich is an essential driver of economic growth in the area, connecting businesses with their employees, suppliers and customers.”