People ‘sick to death’ of delayed roadworks could have their concerns addressed

People who are ‘sick to death’ of delays to roadworks being completed could have their concerns addressed.

Companies could be charged £2,500 per day for carrying out roadworks during peaktimes in Lincolnshire under new plans.

The scheme would apply to utility companies, developers and councils which use the busiest parts of the road network during rush hours.

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) said this would encourage companies to reduce disruption on the roads, avoid the busiest times and get work done more quickly.

Officials said the scheme aims to incentivise companies to work together to adapt to less disruptive methods to avoid the charges.

Speaking at an LCC highways and transport scrutiny committee meeting, Coun Jane King (Reform UK – Donington Rural) welcomed the proposed scheme.

She added: “I think we’ve all got patches where we are sick to death of developers turning up and then going away for a week and not getting anything done and the roads stay closed.

“Our residents get completely and utterly sick of it, as do us councillors getting the phone calls about it.”

The charges are estimated to bring in about £2 million a year, but highways bosses say the scheme is aimed at changing behaviour rather than generating income.

At the meeting on Monday, November 2, Ashley Behan, traffic manager at LCC, said that the proposed scheme aims to incentivise companies to get work done more quickly.

He explained that the money generated would be “reinvested” – with 50% going towards road repairs and the other 50% going towards measures to reduce disruption during roadworks.

Coun Michael Cheyne (Reform UK – Boston West) was concerned that some contractors could rush work and not complete it to the “expected standard” to try and avoid the charges.

But Mr Behan said he was confident that this wouldn’t happen and that other local authorities which have introduced similar schemes have not seen a “reduction in the standard of work.”

He also said that there would be an exemption for contractors carrying out emergency works who would be subject to a two-days free of charge.

‘Lane rental’ schemes were first used in London in 2012 and have since been rolled out across other parts of the country.

The council says it received 74,000 applications for permits to carry out work on the roads in 2025/26 alone, with at least 2,000 of them clashing with other work.

A report says that lane rental schemes could cover up to ten per cent of the county’s busiest roads.

The council said it will launch a public consultation before any decisions are made.

If the scheme is approved, it’s expected to be introduced by the end of next year.