Brighton & Hove City Council’s Permit Scheme has had a second successful year, with fewer works taking place on the network, resulting in less disruption for road and pavement users.
The scheme was introduced in 2015 to give the council more control over the management of roadworks in the city. It is regarded as a best of breed scheme and has been replicated by seven other Highway Authorities since its inception.
Roadworks are necessary to renew and improve the road network, carry out repairs and provide utilities to homes and businesses. However, they also affect communities through congestion, delays and environmental impact.
Under the city council’s permit scheme, operators have to apply for a permit and book time to carry out works. Previously, operators were only required to give the council notice of their intention to carry out work. This left the council with no control on how or when they took place.
During the second year of operation 13,896 permit applications were received, of which 1,420 were refused (an application can be refused where timing, location or conditions are not considered to be acceptable.) Income from the permits has covered the cost of running the scheme.
A report on the scheme’s second year will be put before the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee today.
Chair of the committee, Councillor Gill Mitchell, said: “It is really pleasing to see the positive impact the scheme has had since it was introduced in 2015. Previously, there was a lack of co-ordination between different operators carrying out works on roads across the city, which led to unnecessary disruption and delays.
“In its second year of operation, the volume of works managed by the scheme has increased substantially and this has been dealt with efficiently through good management, forward planning, recruitment and training.
“The team responsible co-ordinates all road and street works in Brighton & Hove, taking the time to review every application and apply conditions to minimise the impact of the roadworks. This has led to a much better control of the network and of the works undertaken on it.”