Roadwork permit scheme aims to reduce congestion

Utility companies will have to apply for permission before carrying out work on Shropshire’s roads, under plans being proposed by the council. 

Formal consultation is now taking place on a permit scheme, which will mean any utility company planning to undertake repairs will need to apply for a permit before work can start. 

The aim of the new policy – called the West and Shires Permit (WaSP) scheme – is to ensure that any repairs made to Shropshire’s roads are to the highest possible standard, as well as giving residents and Shropshire Council more control over when potentially disruptive roadworks will take place. 

At the moment if a utility company wants to do work on a road in Shropshire, it just has to notify Shropshire Council of the work rather than asking for permission.  Under the new scheme, a company will have to apply for permission to access the road before it starts the work. 

Other than emergency work, where a company would have to apply for a permit within two hours of the work starting, Shropshire Council will then grant, refuse or tailor the application. 

Attached to the permit will also be a list of specific conditions, which would be jointly agreed with the utility companies and used to amend the works to cause less disruption to road users. 

A public notice has been published and the consultation runs from 24 June 2013 to 16 August 2013. 

For more information about the proposal and to make a comment, click here.

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“While we appreciate that utility companies have to make repairs from time to time, it’s important that the work is done at a consistently high quality, and that any disruption is kept to a minimum.  This permit scheme will give us more control over when roadworks take place, which should help to keep traffic moving as much as possible.”