Speeches by Greenwood.

“In general terms, what is always very difficult to legislate for is good relationships. Where this works well is where you will have utility companies and the managers of the highway authority having regular conversations, where they pick up the phone and talk to each other. In some cases, you have people who are co-lo…”

“That is an interesting idea. I do not know whether it has been examined previously. They have co-chairs, precisely for the reason that you say. It is meant to be providing a group of your peers who are going to say whether you have acted in a reasonable manner or not.”

“That sounds like a planning issue rather than a street works issue.”

“From the public’s point of view, you would want to ensure that there is someone managing your local roads and trying to minimise disruption on them. From a public point of view, we will probably all be in the position of sometimes being very frustrated when our road is disrupted or dug up and it delays our bus or our j…”

“There needs to be some escalation to an appeal body. Is that the kind of thinking?”

“They might not be very happy about that, but there could be an opportunity for local authorities to agree, particularly at a regional or mayoral strategic authority level, not in exactly the same way as a commissioner, to set up that kind of co-ordinating role. We could look at that.”

“The permit scheme was specifically introduced in order to try to minimise the impact of disruptions when there are works on the carriageways. If it is installing a cycle lane, is that roadworks undertaken by the highway authority rather than street works undertaken by utilities? The permit system is specifically set up…”

“My instinct is that that should be part of the conversation that is happening with the local authority, which would be acting on behalf of its local residents and business owners, because you would want to minimise the impact that any works on the street are going to have to individuals, to businesses, and to the provi…”

“Yes, and ensuring access for people. I listened very carefully to the evidence that was provided around accessibility and the impact it has particularly on disabled people. Ensuring that we strengthen the code of safety in that regard is very important. I do not know, Anthony, whether we have any more detail on when th…”

“It needs to lead to improvements for vulnerable road users and to bring the safety code in line with other DfT guidance around inclusive mobility. A number of highway authorities have, in their submissions, made suggestions for improvements. For example, temporary traffic lights should have a pedestrian phase to allow …”

“The rules are there. The local authorities have a duty to try to co-ordinate street works, and there is a duty on utility companies to co-operate with that process. The system is designed to bring people together in order to have that co-ordination happen, but we have seen that it is challenging. Half of the works that…”

“The duty is exactly the same. For local authorities, it is that you should hold co-ordination meetings and, for utility companies, it is that you should co-operate. There is an expectation that they should be turning up to those meetings. For local authorities—and I would be willing to look at this—is there a question …”

“I suspect that it is variable between different places. I am sure that there will be examples of where there are good relationships—and I know that there are—where those meetings are happening. There are also examples of where local authorities and utility companies have people co-located in regional hubs, so you have …”

“It is something that we could look at. The permits are the mandatory part of it. Given that a lot of the works are being carried out at relatively short notice, I do not know whether you would get the value out of making them mandatory, but I do not see any reason why utility companies would not be sharing their advanc…”

“There are restrictions when a road has just been resurfaced.”

“I absolutely get the gist of what you are saying: when there appears to be an ideal opportunity for co-ordination, why does it not happen? There can be a variety of reasons. As you heard in evidence, utilities are operating at different depths. Generally, if you are talking about water companies, they are having to do …”

“Highway authorities can use permits and the permit conditions to set the duration of works and require working on particular days and at particular times, because we do not want works to be in place any longer than is absolutely necessary. There can be disadvantages. You can use permit conditions to require weekend wor…”

“There are some really big issues around it. There are issues around the siting of EV charge points full stop because anything that adds to what is on the pavement can, as we know, make it more difficult for disabled people to get out. There are issues around the accessibility of public charge points. There is a standar…”

“We want it to be easy and safe.”

“That is okay. On cross-pavement charging solutions, we want everyone to have the opportunity to make the switch to an EV. It is much easier for those people who have off-street parking than it is for those who do not. Cross‑pavement solutions provide a great opportunity because they enable people to use domestic electr…”