Message from Oxfordshire County Council
We’d like to hear your views about a Lane Rental scheme we are proposing to introduce on some of Oxfordshire’s busiest roads.
We know that when companies dig up busy roads, that it can cause disruption to road users. We are proposing to introduce a scheme whereby companies are charged for works that are undertaken during peak periods.
The proposal is to introduce a scheme that will drive behavioural change in those working in the street, so less works are done at busy times or the works are done in a different way, minimising the disruption the works cause to everyone using or relying on the streets.
Background
Currently, all utility and council works undertaken in the streets of Oxfordshire are co-ordinated using a Permit Scheme that charges a fixed fee, at a maximum of £300, to only the utilities, to cover administration costs.
Proposal
Lane Rental replaces this fixed Permit Fee with a daily charge of £2,500. It is only proposed on our most critical busiest streets and is restricted to roughly 5% of all the streets in Oxfordshire, by legislation. It applies to all works in the street, not just utility works and the council’s own works, such a housing developer works.
The daily charge only applies if the works are done in a normal way at the busy times of day, such as the morning and afternoon rush hours. The daily charge will produce surplus funds which will be reinvested back into Oxfordshire.
Lane Rental schemes have been successfully introduced in other councils and the Department for Transport are encouraging councils to implement them.
Link to the consultation https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/lane-rental-scheme-consultation.