Contractors hit with non-compliant roadworks fines

Norfolk County Council said it will issue fines to contractors who carry out roadworks without permits or that do not adhere to conditions

A county council has issued fines totalling £685,000 in a year for non-compliant roadworks.

Norfolk County Council said it issued 44,000 street and roadwork permits in 2024-25 to utility firms and developers.

But it said it rejected 5,400 of 7,000 applications for unplanned emergency works, deeming them unacceptable.

Fixed penalty notices totalling £340,000 were handed out for 2,809 repairs that did not have a permit or failed to comply with permit conditions.

The remaining £345,000 was collected from 306 repair jobs which overran, causing a total of 1,317 additional days of disruption on the county's roads network.

Norfolk County Council said 74 utility companies had the legal right to undertake works on public highways, and as such its powers "remain limited under national legislation".

But the council said it was "committed to holding companies accountable" and in the past 12 months it successfully prosecuted two utility companies where a court imposed fines totalling almost £100,000, with full costs awarded.

Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport said: "We are doing everything within our power to manage the impact of roadworks on Norfolk's communities.

"But the reality is that we don't have the authority to stop or delay many of these works.

"Utility companies have a legal right to dig up our roads, and in emergency cases, they can start work before even notifying us.

"While this lack of control makes it incredibly difficult to protect residents from disruption, we do hold third parties to account and will issue fines and reject permits when we need to."