Streetworks

Thames Water carries out among the most streetworks in the UK, and is the the company responsible for the greatest number in London.

Streetworks operational activity is mainly carried out on our behalf by contractors. This essential work includes routine repair and maintenance activities, providing new supplies, and replacing water mains and sewers to reduce leakage and flooding.

Working in London is challenging, and the amount of work carried out there is at the highest level in our history. This is in large part due to the high volume of work to reduce leakage and to renew pipes as part of our Victorian Mains Replacement programme.

There is also increasing pressure to improve our performance and reduce the impact of our work, driven by the rising expectations of road users and the regulations included in the Traffic Management Act 2004.

We have been working together with the Mayor's office, highway authorities, other utility companies, contractors and other stakeholders to promote the London Code of Conduct. We have also taken an active role in developing and endorsing the more-recent National Code of Conduct.

A number of our initiatives have been endorsed as best practice in the sector – for example, our move to introduce specially-designed plates, which can be placed across trenches to keep traffic moving during rush hour.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 has introduced new rules for the noticing of streetworks and, in some boroughs, replaces noticing with permit schemes. These are potentially the greatest change in the delivery of streetworks since the introduction of the New Roads and Street Works Act in 1991.

We fully support the objectives of the Traffic Management Act, to minimise traffic congestion and improve co-ordination of the streetworks of highway authorities and utilities.

Early 2010 saw the introduction of permit schemes across a significant part of our region. Under this new scheme, companies carrying out streetworks can be fined if they fail to get highway authorities' permission for their intended work.

In the capital, 17 highway authorities plus Transport for London implemented a permit scheme in January 2010, as did Kent County Council. A further two highway authorities – Bromley and Croydon – introduced permit schemes in April 2010.

Another seven are due to implement permit schemes later in 2010, subject to the Department for Transport (DfT) consultation and approval process.

Our investment in preparing for the introduction of these permit schemes has paid dividends by enabling us to apply for permits in a timely fashion, as required by legislation.

There are further legislative changes being discussed by the DfT, which include increased overstay charges and lane rental schemes – precise details are yet to be confirmed.

During 2009/10, we received new prosecutions relating to 43 alleged streetworks offences. Two of these prosecutions were withdrawn and we pleaded guilty to four, incurring total fines of £1,920. Nineteen prosecutions remained open and were carried forward into 2010/11.

This compared with total fines of £72,753 in the previous year, for 80 streetworks offences.

We are taking an active role in pursuing streetworks excellence, supported by a campaign we have launched within the company to encourage top-quality work in this area.

This is also underlined by our participation in numerous regional and national industry forums and working groups. These include the London Permit Working Group, which includes representatives from the utilities sector and highway authorities.