| Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:36, 21st January 2026 |     |
From the BBC:
Charges planned to curb peak-time roadworks
A proposal to charge utility companies up to £2,500 a day for carrying out roadworks has been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Hampshire County Council says the lane rental scheme, if approved, could generate around £1.6m annually to be reinvested in maintaining the county's road network, including pothole repairs.
The council wants to implement a daily charge of £2,500 for a full road closure and £1,500 for lane closures or the use of temporary traffic lights.
The plan was signed off by the local authority on 19 January and if the DfT gives the scheme the go-ahead, it could be introduced later this year.
Under national rules, councils can apply lane rental charges only during the busiest traffic periods, with exemptions at other times.
Based on data from recent works, officials estimate the scheme could bring in around £2.8m in gross income each year. Of that, roughly £1.2m would cover administrative costs, leaving £1.6m for road maintenance.
The council said the primary aim was not to raise revenue but to encourage faster completion of works and to deter companies from scheduling disruptive activity at peak times.
Approving the plans, Councillor Lulu Bowerman, the cabinet member for highways and public transport, said she was "really pleased to see it coming forward", adding that residents regularly experienced congestion caused by roadworks. "This is about encouraging behavioural change," she said. "The sooner we can bring this in, the better."
Tim Lawton, the council's assistant director, told a committee meeting that officers had "high confidence" the proposal met all national requirements.
During the decision session, Councillor Kirsty North noted that the maximum charges allowed by government had not changed since the scheme became possible in 2012. She said it would be "fair" to highlight that the council was limited by outdated legislation, adding she hoped the DfT would approve the scheme so the county could "reduce congestion and repair potholes".
An application to run a similar scheme was made by Southampton City Council in 2025.
A proposal to charge utility companies up to £2,500 a day for carrying out roadworks has been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Hampshire County Council says the lane rental scheme, if approved, could generate around £1.6m annually to be reinvested in maintaining the county's road network, including pothole repairs.
The council wants to implement a daily charge of £2,500 for a full road closure and £1,500 for lane closures or the use of temporary traffic lights.
The plan was signed off by the local authority on 19 January and if the DfT gives the scheme the go-ahead, it could be introduced later this year.
Under national rules, councils can apply lane rental charges only during the busiest traffic periods, with exemptions at other times.
Based on data from recent works, officials estimate the scheme could bring in around £2.8m in gross income each year. Of that, roughly £1.2m would cover administrative costs, leaving £1.6m for road maintenance.
The council said the primary aim was not to raise revenue but to encourage faster completion of works and to deter companies from scheduling disruptive activity at peak times.
Approving the plans, Councillor Lulu Bowerman, the cabinet member for highways and public transport, said she was "really pleased to see it coming forward", adding that residents regularly experienced congestion caused by roadworks. "This is about encouraging behavioural change," she said. "The sooner we can bring this in, the better."
Tim Lawton, the council's assistant director, told a committee meeting that officers had "high confidence" the proposal met all national requirements.
During the decision session, Councillor Kirsty North noted that the maximum charges allowed by government had not changed since the scheme became possible in 2012. She said it would be "fair" to highlight that the council was limited by outdated legislation, adding she hoped the DfT would approve the scheme so the county could "reduce congestion and repair potholes".
An application to run a similar scheme was made by Southampton City Council in 2025.
| Re: Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by Witham Bobby at 12:41, 23rd January 2026 | |
From the BBC:
Charges planned to curb peak-time roadworks
A proposal to charge utility companies up to £2,500 a day for carrying out roadworks has been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Hampshire County Council says the lane rental scheme, if approved, could generate around £1.6m annually to be reinvested in maintaining the county's road network, including pothole repairs.
The council wants to implement a daily charge of £2,500 for a full road closure and £1,500 for lane closures or the use of temporary traffic lights.
A proposal to charge utility companies up to £2,500 a day for carrying out roadworks has been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Hampshire County Council says the lane rental scheme, if approved, could generate around £1.6m annually to be reinvested in maintaining the county's road network, including pothole repairs.
The council wants to implement a daily charge of £2,500 for a full road closure and £1,500 for lane closures or the use of temporary traffic lights.
So GasCo, TeleCo, LeccyCo, WaterCo etc etc etc dig up your road and then add a bit to your bill to cover the cost that the council is imposing on them. Great idea!
| Re: Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by eightonedee at 18:41, 23rd January 2026 | |
I have some sympathy with Hants CC on this one. In recent years I have noticed around here a tendency for those working on highways to leave traffic light controls on roads out of hours (or even during the day) when no works are in progress or any holes or similar are in the carriageway. It seems that they are either using the carriageway as free plant storage or are simply too lazy to dismantle them at the end of the working day and move them to a secure place. There's been a lot of this recently in Oxfordshire, but the worst was back in December on the busy A616 between Sheffield and Manchester when I encountered queues of traffic stretching back for miles either side of a set of lights with no active works, holes in the carriageway or stored plant between them.
| Re: Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by CyclingSid at 18:50, 23rd January 2026 | |
I have noticed around here a tendency for those working on highways to leave traffic light controls on roads out of hours (or even during the day) when no works are in progress or any holes or similar are in the carriageway.
Is part of this the fact that most traffic signals and signage has now been outsourced. I notice locally that quite often signage for road works appears possibly days before work start, and maybe after completion.| Re: Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by ellendune at 19:06, 23rd January 2026 | |
So GasCo, TeleCo, LeccyCo, WaterCo etc etc etc dig up your road and then add a bit to your bill to cover the cost that the council is imposing on them. Great idea!
Only if their regulators allow this. Also it will incentivise them to do the work quicker. It is quite normal for the traffic signals to go up, then a delay, then the work is carried out, then another delay, then a reinstatement gang will come along, then anotehr delay before the traffic management contractor returns to remove the lights.
Also managing street works costs local tax payers money so why shouldn't this cost be partially transferred to the utility concerned.
| Re: Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by ray951 at 19:31, 23rd January 2026 | |
I have noticed around here a tendency for those working on highways to leave traffic light controls on roads out of hours (or even during the day) when no works are in progress or any holes or similar are in the carriageway.
Is part of this the fact that most traffic signals and signage has now been outsourced. I notice locally that quite often signage for road works appears possibly days before work start, and maybe after completion.Your supposition is right and it happens because the work is outsourced, and the utility company often fails to pass the correct information to the traffic‑light contractor. One of our local councillors keeps an eye on roadworks in the area, and he’s reported several cases where the work either hasn’t started or has already finished, yet the lights are still in place. It all comes down to poor communication between the companies involved.
| Re: Hampshire County Council plans charges for roadwork lane closures Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 10:29, 24th January 2026 | |
Oxfordshire is implementing one of these too:
https://oxfordclarion.uk/the-clarion-11-november-2025/
Lane Rental Schemes in other areas have exempted Network Rail from charges, which is perhaps just as well, as the Botley Road railway bridge closure would have been charged at £3m for 1,239 days.
