Utility company pays £7,000 over unsafe roadworks

A utility company has been ordered to pay more than £7,000 for unsafely carrying out roadworks in south London last summer.

Electricity Network Company (ENC) Ltd did not used adequate signs, cones and barriers during the works on Trinity Crescent, in Tooting, in August 2024, it was found.

The company pled guilty to breaching safety regulations and said it had "sincere regret" over the incident.

It was ordered to pay a fine and costs of £7,016 at Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court on 22 April.

Jenny Yates, Wandsworth cabinet member for transport, said the company's "carelessness" posed a danger to residents.

"The outcome of this case sends a clear message that we will not tolerate companies taking risks in our borough and we will hold them firmly to account," she said.

Photos were taken by a visiting council network controller while the roadworks were carried out, which ENC acknowledged showed the arrangement of pedestrian barriers were inadequate and did not meet safety standards.

The company said it took its health and safety duties very seriously, and otherwise had an "excellent reputation for safety and quality of work" across Wandsworth and the UK.

An ENC director told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that it was "immensely disappointing" to "have their reputation called into question".

They said the company usually had a "consistently high site standard" for customers and added that the business has taken "firm action to ensure those concerned are fully aware of the high standards we look to achieve, reach and maintain in all aspects of our work, of which public safety is a primary consideration".

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