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30
Jan
New roadworks charges get green light in North Yorkshire
New charges for utility companies and other organisations that carry out roadworks on key roads during the busiest times of the day are to be introduced in North Yorkshire.
The Department for Transport has approved North Yorkshire Council’s application for a lane rental scheme, which already operates in London and Kent, to reduce traffic disruption.
Under the scheme, companies would incur daily fees of up to £2,500 for undertaking maintenance work at peak times.
This is considerably less than many pay under the current permit scheme.
The council hopes it will reduce the length of works and encourage companies to work together to minimise inconvenience.
Congestion has reduced in areas where the lane rental system has been piloted because companies worked outside peak times to avoid accumulating charges.
Martin Mann, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said the move will encourage people to visit local traders:
Roadworks inevitably cause disruption to road users which can both affect footfall to our retail and hospitality businesses, making it harder for people to access them and, in some cases, putting them off visiting.
They can also affect individuals such as carers travelling between clients throughout the day which can cause a detrimental service to those most in need.
We support any scheme that will improve the timing of when works are carried out, particularly outside of opening hours.
Seven per cent of roads eligible
North Yorkshire, which is England’s largest county, has a network of roads stretching a total of nearly 5,800 miles.
However, lane rental charges would only apply to works on about seven per cent of the county’s overall road network, or almost 500 miles, which have been prioritised to minimise disruption.
It has taken almost a year for the council to get government approval for the scheme.
Cllr Keane Duncan, the former executive member for highways and transport, instigated moves last year.
Cllr Duncan resigned in May and was replaced by fellow Conservative Cllr Malcolm Taylor, who said today:
We made the application last April, so we are delighted that we have received approval to adopt a better approach to those carrying out roadworks.
Charging for the time roadworks are in place means we can provide incentives to complete the work quickly and outside of peak times.
We hope the lane rental scheme will reduce unnecessary disruption to all road users travelling across our vast road network.
A council statement today said the scheme could be in operation by spring, and any surplus funds would be “invested into highways maintenance and measures that reduce disruption on the network”.
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