Emergency powers being abused to dig up roads, MPs told

Utilities companies are abusing their emergency powers to dig up streets in England, causing major disruption for drivers and public transport, MPs have been told.

Emergency powers allow works to be carried out with little or no notice in certain circumstances such as gas leaks or a burst water pipe.

Giving evidence to Transport Committee, Keith McNally, from the Confederation of Passenger Transport which represents bus operators, said his members felt these powers were sometimes being used for non-emergencies.

However, Clive Bairsto from Streetworks UK, the trade association for utilities companies, said there was no evidence of abuse of powers.

MPs on the Transport Committee are conducting an inquiry into street works - the work carried out by utilities companies to install, repair or maintain services such as broadband or water.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, told MPs that the average number of holes being dug by utility firms in England outside of London had jumped from 13,250 per local authority in 2018 to more than 17,200 last year.

He said improving broadband and rolling out charge points for electric vehicles were contributing factors but added there "is also more evidence of just general works going on from utilities companies".

McNally said a surge in roadworks was making route planning and timetabling increasingly difficult - pointing out that during the day some bus services have to repeatedly loop past the same excavations causing further and further delays.

He added that unlike other road users, buses can not simply divert down routes of their drivers' choosing because passengers need to be collected at specific points.

Asked whether the emergency permit to "open up roads" was being abused, McNally said he believed it was.

"The number of works undertaken on an emergency basis seems to have increased.

"I'm not sure about the overall volume but our members are saying to us that a very high proportion seem to be on an emergency basis."

Cousens questioned why more works by different companies could not be done at the same time to prevent repeat disruption to roads.

"The gas company seems to be in one week, they go away, then the water company get in the hole, then they disappear.

"Then the broadband company get in the hole and they fill it back up and they disappear and somebody else comes in.

"And we have this horrible cycle of roadworks that never seem to end that then create lots of other problems with the road surface with potholes ruining the structural integrity of our roads."

The Transport Committee was told there are over 200 different organisations which have rights to open up the road surface.

Bairsto said it was normal practice to try and co-ordinate works - with some local authorities even having "champions" to do just that.

In a debate at the beginning of the year, Transport Minister Lillian Greenwood said her department had "examined Street Manager data and spoken to industry representatives and found no evidence of misuse".