Hertfordshire County Council has called on the Government to raise the penalties faced by utility companies whose poorly managed roadworks cause disruption for residents and businesses.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, the council's Executive Member for Highways, has written to the Department for Transport urging ministers to increase fines for companies that overrun or fail to properly manage roadworks across the county.

With more than 60,000 sets of roadworks taking place on Hertfordshire's highways each year, most carried out by utility firms, the council says stronger deterrents are needed to ensure high standards are consistently met.

Cllr Giles-Medhurst said: "I know how hard our Network Management teams work to coordinate works across the county, but some roadworks are poorly managed by utility companies. When they fail to implement road closures and temporary traffic lights in the agreed ways and at the agreed times, it's our residents and businesses that suffer.

Frustratingly, the current regulations only allow us to fine utility companies £80 for breaching permit conditions, and just £300 for carrying out unauthorised roadworks. This is not a meaningful disincentive for multi-million-pound utility companies, many of whom appear to view such fines as simply the cost of doing business."

Since April 2022, Hertfordshire County Council has issued more than 10,000 fines to utilities. The authority is now pressing the Secretary of State for Transport to review the penalty system and give councils more power to enforce higher standards on the road.

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