Utility Companies Ordered to Return and Fix Their Repair Jobs

Utility companies and others who have dug up the borough's roads are being ordered to return after checks by the Council found more than a third of road reinstatements were not up to standard.

Bedford Borough Council has surveyed 81 locations in the borough where the road has been dug up to allow for water, electric, gas or communications works to take place. Of these, 31 failed the Council's stringent tests.

Bedford Borough Council spends more than £5million every year to maintain and improve roads in the borough and expects companies who dig up our roads to ensure that when they are finished their work meets the required quality standards.

When reinstatements are found to have failed, the Council has the power to require utility companies to repair the highways to acceptable standards as a matter of urgency. The work is then guaranteed for two years.

The majority of the failures were due to the replacement tarmac being laid too thinly. This means the repairs will not last long enough.

Lib Dem Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: "Everyone understands that utility companies need to access pipes and cables under the road surface.

However, what road users rightly will not accept is poor quality reinstatement work which undermines our major investment in maintaining and resurfacing our roads and causes further disruption.

"We make no apology for taking a strict line on ensuring acceptable standards for local road users, and will continue to monitor these works closely on their behalf."