Firms to be charged by the day for roadworks in £1.4million east London scheme

Firms carrying out roadworks will be charged if they need to close the road under a new £1.4million scheme in east London.Havering Council hopes the new policy, which was approved this week, will dissuade firms carrying out roadworks at busy times.Under the so-called “lane rental scheme”, roads classed with high-importance will carry a daily charge of up to £2,500.Companies will be charged £1,500 for roads deemed of medium-importance and £1,000 for the lowest. The classification will be based on traffic-flow data.Councillor Alex Sibley, the cabinet member for highways, said residents have frequently complained that roadworks “seem to last forever”.He said: “A set of temporary traffic lights arrives, starts a family and settles down before the work is finished.Major roads across Havering will attract higher fees, the council saidGetty“The lane rental scheme is designed to encourage utilities companies to get in, get the job [done] and get out again – specifically on our busiest roads and at our busiest times.”The Reform-led council previously described works on Gallows Corner, a busy flyover and roundabout linking London to Essex, a “nightmare” after it shut roads for 15-months in one of the capital’s longest-running roadwork sagas.There would be some exceptions to the proposal, with fees waived for the first 24 hours of “genuine immediate emergency works”, the local authority said.Under the new policy, highway companies will pay for each day a road is closed between 7am and 10am, and 3pm and 7pm.The council says the aim is to “encourage better planning” and reduce disruption and delays for motorists.Around 12% of Havering’s road network would be affected.The scheme was green-lit at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening.Around 100 roads would be affected, according to a report published last week, including several stretches of Main Road, North Street and Hornchurch’s high street.Mr Sibley conceded that the scheme could encourage companies to produce “rush jobs”, but said he was “confident this will not be the case”, pleading that the new administration “will not tolerate mistakes on its road”.Read MoreBased on council data from 2022/23, it would cost utility companies £977,500 and highways companies £442,000.That would bring in a total of £1.42million for the town hall, though £200,000 has been earmarked for three new staff roles overseeing the scheme.The remaining funds would be split between highway maintenance and pot-hole repairs, and other initiatives aimed at cutting congestion and helping to speed up roadworks.Havering is not the first London authority to implement such a policy. Last year, neighbouring Redbridge Council began charging highway companies for similar closures.