Shropshire Star

Shropshire roadworks: Consultants need to improve, says council report

A contractor responsible for roadworks in Shropshire has "more work to do to improve performance" according to a Shropshire Council report.

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The information is contained in a report for the authority's environment and services scrutiny committee into the system used for organisations to apply for permits for roadworks.

As well as saying that more needs to be done to improve performance on consultancy schemes by Mouchel, the report also paints a positive picture of the effects of the scheme saying that it has saved the Shropshire economy £2 million since 2014.

It also states that the system has reduced the number of days works are taking place by a total of 10,000 between 2014 and 2016.

One aspect revealed by the report is that utilities companies have provided better performance on works than the council's own contractor, Mouchel.

It states: "The report has highlighted that the performance of Shropshire Council contractors and consultants is lower than that of the utility companies, and with the new contractor contract being developed there will be greater controls included to incentivise better performance, there remains however, more work needed to be done to improve performance of the consultancy schemes run by Mouchel."

The report does outline a number of positives from the scheme and states: "A clear reduction in overall works activity occupation of the highway through the assessment of permit durations and a significant improvement in identifying and encouraging collaboration between works promoters, with an increase in the number of collaborative works. Together these have resulted in approximately 10,000 fewer days of occupation than the equivalent number of activities might have lead too in 2013/14."

It adds: "The overall days saved represents a direct financial benefit to the regional economy in the region of £2m plus in terms of cost of disruption from street and road works."

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said the report showed the success in reducing the amount of time works take to complete.

He said: "The permit scheme report is an honest, detailed and impartial assessment of the running and effectiveness of the scheme since its inception and helps in identifying successes as well as areas where improvement can be made.

"By their very nature "works for road purposes" such as those planned and implemented by the council , its contractors and consultants have different challenges and statutory drivers to those planned by utilities companies and other undertakers, and the introduction of the scheme in Shropshire required a significant transition for everyone involved. It's important to note the amount of progress by all that has happened within this timeframe.

"The permit scheme has been very successful in reducing the overall durations of works and improving the performance of all work undertakers. So, while the report highlights that there is more work needed, this has to be viewed in the context that overall performance for all undertakers has improved and we are continuing to monitor and implement further improvements as they're identified."

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