East Sussex Council Considers Tougher Fines For Utility Companies

Utility companies could face tougher enforcement action and potentially larger financial penalties for overrunning roadworks or failing to meet agreed conditions in East Sussex.

East Sussex County Council agreed a series of recommendations on Tuesday (13 October) following a scrutiny review into street works involving gas, water and electricity infrastructure.

The review called for a formal prosecution policy to deal with repeated serious breaches of permit conditions.

It also recommended that East Sussex Highways staff regularly gather evidence of roadworks equipment, signs and traffic lights being left in place after permits expire.

Planned works require council permits, which can include conditions covering traffic management and advance warnings for residents.

Emergency and urgent works also require permits, although these can be applied for after work has started.

East Sussex Highways carries out around 800 permit inspections each month.

In October last year, 22% of inspections identified failures to comply with permit conditions.

Councils can issue Fixed Penalty Notices for breaches, but the review found these are often treated by utility companies as a routine business cost.

Prosecution is another option, although it is significantly more expensive.

At the time of the review, the council had not brought a prosecution since 2013 and did not have a policy setting out when to use that power.

Councillor Julia Hilton, chairman of the council's Place Scrutiny Committee, said companies should be held accountable when work overruns its agreed timeframe or equipment is left behind.

The council's lead member for transport and environment, Councillor Peter Griffiths, said maintaining good relationships with utility companies was important, but enforcement was necessary when firms repeatedly failed to meet requirements.

Other recommendations include improving communication with bus companies about emergency roadworks and lobbying the Department for Transport to shorten the time allowed for permanent road repairs and extend the reinstatement guarantee to five years.