By Councillor Richard Walters

On 3rd December Town Councillors met Shail Chohan, Head of Warwickshire County Council (WCC) Highways and Jeff Morris from the Network Team at New Clerk House to relay the concerns of residents at the scale of disruption caused by roadworks in recent months.

The meeting was frank and open, but also constructive and collaborative. Councillors questioned why so many works appear to overlap and highlighted the impact to local businesses.

The permit authorisation process was outlined as well as the emergency works process. Often it is instances of pre-planned works clashing with a spate of emergency works that create the density and therefore the disruption. Although the County is the authority, often the works are conducted by third parties such as telecoms and utility companies. Sometimes, these companies exceed the terms of their permit and are therefore subject to financial penalty.

Councillors cited specific examples of works that had been in place for extended periods with limited work taking place. Although Highways have enforcement teams, they welcome residents highlighting where works are not being carried out correctly.

Councillors were shown how to find details of permits on the One Network website and how to log issues directly with WCC (details below). Roadworks in the town are a hugely emotive subject and rightly a cause of great concern. The Town Council are committed to working with County to minimise disruption and keeping residents informed, but there are things that we can all do.

Here some things you can do to stay informed and report any issues:

1. Raise issues or concerns directly with Highways Customer Services:

• 01926 412515

• Open Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-4.30pm

2. Reporting issues directly online:

• https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/reporthighwayproblem

• You can report issues either anonymously, or by creating an account

• Creating an account will allow you to get updates for some defect types, eg potholes

3. Stay informed for when roadworks are planned and how long they will go on for:

• All roadworks which have a permit agreed can be found here: https://one.network/

• Creating an account on One Network brings benefits, including the ability to receive automated emails on any new works in any area chosen by you.