Streetworks FAQ
Why do we allow people to dig up the roads so often?
Certain companies or public bodies have a legal right (under the New Roads and Street Works Act) to dig up roads in order to install new pipes, cables, etc, or to maintain their existing ones. These are known as statutory undertakers.
In general, these are companies that supply water, gas, electricity and telecommunications.
We cannot stop a statutory undertaker digging up the road. They have a legal right under the New Roads and Street Works Act, to maintain their existing pipes, cables, etc, or to install new ones.
In April 2016, we introduced a permit scheme for all works on the highway. This requires anyone wishing to carry out work on the highway to have the methodology and timing of their work approved and co-ordinated.
The statutory undertaker must tell us about the work. For minor works they must send us a daily list of where it's working. For other works they must give notice. The bigger the work the longer the notice, from 2 hours for emergency works to 28 days for planned works.
New Roads and Street Works Act 1991
The New Roads and Street Works Act regulates the relationship between us and the statutory undertakers.
Contractors
Most of the statutory undertakers do not carry out their works themselves but use contractors to do the work. The contractors should display a board saying who they are, who they are working for and giving a contact phone number.
What is a permit scheme?
Permits are required for most work in the road or pavement that takes place on any publicly maintainable highways. Permissible works include such things as:
- street works - work on plant and apparatus in the street by undertakers
- works for road purposes - maintenance and improvement works to the road itself carried out by, or on behalf of, the highway authority
- major highway works
What are the benefits of the scheme?
The scheme allows the council to require works to be carried out at specific times and to apply conditions as to how this work is to be carried out. Because the scheme covers its costs the council now has more oversight which is funded by those causing the potential disruption rather than the taxpayer.
Who will need to apply for a permit?
Any ‘works promoters’ that wishes to carry out any of the activities listed above will be required to obtain a permit from the appropriate authority.
‘Works promoters’ tend to be either utility companies or contractors acting on behalf of either a utility company or a local authority. In addition to receiving applications for permits from - for example – Anglian Water, we will also be receiving and assessing permit applications made on behalf of us by their service providers.
While it might seem odd to be issuing permits for our own works, it is a legal requirement that parity exists across all permit applications and the processes surrounding them, regardless of who is making the application.
What are the costs and charges associated with the Central Bedfordshire Council permit scheme?
The cost of a permit depends on the scale of the works and the street where they take place. The cost which ranges from £40 to £240 covers the administrative cost of operating the scheme.
If works that require a permit take place without one, the works promoter may be issued with a fixed penalty notice of up to £500, and ordered to apply and pay for the permit that they should have had in the first place.
If a works promoter breaches the conditions of a permit, they may be issued with a fixed penalty notice of up to £120.
Following a recent change in legislation, the above fines will be doubled which will means £240 full charge and £160 discounted charge for NWSRA offences and breaching permit conditions. FPNs will be £1,000 full charge and £600 discounted charge for working without a permit. In addition to this, overrun charges will also cover weekends and bank holidays – these changes will take effect from summer 2025.
Why don't we tell people their road is about to be dug up?
Although it might seem like a good idea for the us to inform residents, the volume of work on street makes this impractical. Over 15,000 jobs are carried out each year by statutory undertakers alone. The vast majority of which are less than 3 days in duration.
Under the permit scheme, the most disruptive and long-term work requires the works promoter to send notification to residents and businesses directly affected. Such works require a permit application be submitted at least 3 months in advance to allow time for effective co-ordination and notification.
Why do these companies dig up the road immediately after we have resurfaced it?
When we resurface a road, we serve a special legal notice to all the statutory undertakers who work in Central Bedfordshire. This prevents them from digging up the road for the next 3 years after we've finished the works.
Unfortunately, there are exceptions for emergencies and for new services to customers. If we find works are taking place in a road where we have served a notice, that does not meet the criteria for exception, we reserve the right to instigate legal proceedings.
Why are some holes in the road left open for weeks with no work going on?
In general, statutory undertakers and their contractors don't want to leave holes open any longer than they must. It costs money to keep barriers and lights around holes, and they may be legally liable for any accidents.
There are some instances where holes must be left open when there is no work going on. For instance, where gas has seeped into the ground, or into cable ducts. In these cases, it must be allowed to escape into the open air.
If a statutory undertaker goes beyond their planned end date that has been agreed with the council, they can be charged a daily amount currently varying from £100 to £2,500 depending on the road and type of works.
Why does it always seem to take longer than planned?
People have been digging holes in the road to lay pipes or cables for over 100 years. Records of what was done in the early days are poor or non-existent.
Although there are very sophisticated systems available to locate underground services, none of these are 100% accurate. Nobody can be certain of what's there until they start digging.
Cellars and vaults are another issue, because many of them extend under the pavement and the road, and accurate information on them is not always available.
All these things can combine to make work take longer than planned.
Why don't the companies work together?
We have a duty to co-ordinate the work of statutory undertakers, but it can't force them to work together.
We hold formal full co-ordination meetings 4 times a year. Council staff responsible for road maintenance and new projects attend, together with representatives of all the statutory undertakers and the police.
There are some problems which can sometimes make joint-working difficult to take place. For example, telecommunications (cable) companies carry out much of the high-profile work in Central Bedfordshire. This is a highly competitive business. Not surprisingly some cable companies are reluctant to reveal their forward plans, beyond their legal obligations.
Some works cannot safely take place together and sometimes, due to the location of each company’s equipment in the street, the space they need to occupy to let them work together would be more disruptive.
We have been successful in persuading some companies to work together and lay several cables in one trench, but it can only persuade, it cannot force them to do it.
Why does the council suspend parking for several days before the works start and after they finish?
When a company needs parking bays suspended to allow it to carry out works, it tells us its planned start and finish date for the works.
Unfortunately, sometimes the company fails to start on the planned date. If they tell us, we can change the parking suspensions accordingly, but if they don't tell us we can't. Similarly, they often simply don't tell us if they finish earlier than planned.
There are so many requests for parking suspensions that we can't check all locations to see if the work started and finished on time. We must rely on the people who carry out the work to tell us of any changes.
To combat this problem, we now work very closely with statutory undertakers on major projects. We insist that the parking suspension staff are involved right from the planning stage and throughout the life of the works. We provides such contractors with 'return to service' stickers to release bays for public use as soon as possible.
How do I report a problem with works on street?
Concerns can be reported through FixMyStreet, though please note these can take up to 10 working days to be investigated. Any emergency concerns should be called through to the Highways Helpdesk on 0300 300 8049.