Roadworks: Journey Times

The MP supports the lead MP's proposal, highlighting issues with highway authority permits and emergency legislation used by utility companies. He suggests increasing fixed-penalty notices for overrunning roadworks to encourage more efficient work coordination among utilities.

In Rossendale and Darwen, single trunk roads serve most of the constituency. Residents and businesses are delayed daily by roadworks, with major employers threatening to leave due to costs imposed by these works. Roadworks limit growth and impact everyday lives. The Traffic Management Act 2004 restricts penalties for overruns and lane rental schemes. The MP hopes for straightforward changes to improve regulation of roadworks.

He praised the consensual nature of the debate and highlighted issues caused by road closures in both urban, suburban, and rural areas. He mentioned that utility companies must be held accountable for causing inconvenience to people's daily activities. He also discussed previous government initiatives such as performance-based street works regime and lane rental schemes aimed at improving road maintenance efficiency.

In Strangford, roadworks disrupt daily life and impact businesses such as McClements' garage in Newtownards. Northern Ireland Water, the gas company, and British Telecom performed separate works on the same road without coordination. The MP suggests better co-ordination between utilities companies and performing roadwork at night or weekends to reduce disruption.

The A75 road in Dumfries and Galloway will see an 96-mile diversion due to roadworks, turning a normal 40-minute journey into a two-and-a-half-hour drive. The speaker emphasised the importance of this road for UK-wide trade connections, particularly with Northern Ireland, noting that maintenance is needed but should not be conducted without consideration for public inconvenience. He called on the Secretary of State for Scotland to visit these roads and urged for more substantial investment beyond patchwork repairs.

Cars are not the only vehicles affected by roadworks; bus services, which cannot easily reroute, suffer significant disruptions that impact timetables and passenger journeys. A 5% drop in service use due to roadwork delays can result in hundreds of missed journeys over a few weeks, affecting funding for other services. The speaker highlighted cases where roadwork-induced delays led some constituents to walk long distances daily to reach their nearest train station instead of relying on buses.

Congratulated the hon. Friend on securing the debate, mentioned introducing a ten-minute rule Bill about regulating roadworks which he is reintroducing next week with support from the Opposition spokesman. Stressed the importance of tightening up permit issuance by highway authorities to prevent overruns. Asked the Minister if she would allow him to discuss his ten-minute rule Bill in her speech next week and whether she is willing to meet to discuss its merits.

He expressed concern about roadworks causing severe disruption, particularly on the A3 in Wimbledon. He highlighted a real-terms cut to the Department for Transport budget and called for better co-ordination across the transport sector to minimise network disruption. He also mentioned that utility companies are not doing enough to ensure minimal disruption during street works.