Buckinghamshire Council has today taken a major step towards introducing a new Lane Rental Scheme (LRS) in the county, in a bid to address and ultimately reduce disruption caused by the growing number of roadworks.

Cabinet Members agreed to submit an application to the Government to implement the scheme. If approved, this would make Buckinghamshire Council one of the first local authorities in the country to obtain the relevant powers to deliver such a scheme.

Lane Rental powers enable an authority to charge those working on key roads, at the busiest times, up to £2,500 a day to occupy the most sensitive parts of the highway network.

The introduction of the LRS would bring several benefits, including:

• Better coordination and more efficient works
• Behavioural changes in the industry to increase collaboration
• Reduced congestion, improved journey times and reliability

The scheme incentivises those who need to carry out works on the county’s road network to become more efficient with how they manage the works when a road or lane closure is needed. This should encourage those working on the roads to either move their works to less busy times, or complete them in a quicker timescale, to avoid accumulating charges. The result should help reduce congestion and create more reliable journeys for road users.
The scheme would complement the existing permit scheme operated by Buckinghamshire Highways, and would only apply to selected roads, not the whole of the county.

Steven Broadbent, Buckinghamshire Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, said:

"As anyone who lives or travels in the county will know, at times, key routes can get jammed and journey times become longer as roadworks increase pressure on already busy roads. While we try to coordinate these works to minimise pressures, over recent years we have seen a huge increase in permits for works and despite the planning, the cumulative effects on road users is a source of frustration. I have been clear that these additional powers should be sought at the earliest opportunity so we can improve the situation for residents.

"The Lane Rental Scheme will focus on the most critical parts of our highway network, with charges applying only at the busiest times. Roadworks can still occur but will be incentivised to work quickly and efficiently. This means those who need to carry out essential works and supply public services can still do so but will be causing less disruption to our road network."

Steven added: "Clearly, we can’t eradicate all delays and road congestion, especially when it comes to the need for emergency works, but this scheme encourages those working on the roads to better plan their works to take place during less busy times, to look for ways to collaborate, and complete works more quickly. LRS will mean we have more power, and more meaningful options in levying fines to encourage better behaviour from those working on our roads so that our residents have less disruption as they move around."

Buckinghamshire Council continues to have a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of conditions for roadworks. The Streetworks team carries out inspections seven days a week, making sure those carrying out works on the county’s highway network are sticking to the conditions of their permit. Where terms are breached, fines are issued, and in the past year a record number of fines and permit revocations have been issued.