Kirklees Together

A permit will be needed for all works taking place on adopted roads in Kirklees from now on.

Previously companies only needed to apply for a permit to do work on the busiest 20% of roads in the Kirklees network.

How will the new permit scheme help?

The new permit scheme gives us the power to manage and co-ordinate road works more effectively, and where possible plan in works to take place at the same time in order to minimise delay and disruption for people travelling on the area’s roads. This also provides the opportunity to extend the benefits gained from the existing scheme to cover the whole of the adopted road network.

In addition to changing what is covered by the permit scheme, we will also be using a new piece of national software called ‘Street Manager’.  The software aims to modernise how street works and roadworks projects are managed.

Cllr Rob Walker, Cabinet member for environment said:

“Our roads not only provide invaluable connections between towns and villages,  they also house miles of gas and water pipes, electric connections and digital infrastructure all of which need to be maintained and repaired by different companies. With around 12,000 essential street works taking place on our roads each year being able to better control and co-ordinate who is digging up which road, when it incredibly important.

Whilst there will always be some level of disruption caused by roadworks, evidence shows that a permit scheme reduces the number of works that start late or overrun, encourages collaboration between different companies and generally reduces disruption.

I also welcome this timely opportunity to extend the benefits of the current permit scheme to cover all of Kirklees particularly at a time of significant levels of investment in the districts infrastructure.

An effective transport system is an essential driver of economic growth, connecting businesses with their employees, suppliers with their customers and helps everyone get where they need to go as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Do the statistics back it up?

On the roads that were previously included in the permit scheme, over the period from July 2015 to June 2018, the council found that its introduction led to less delays including

–  The average duration of works was down from 4.98 days at the start of the evaluation period to 4.19 days in the end.

–  Collaborative working between works promoters saved 232 days.

–  Interventions in the permit assessment process saved 1,546 days.