Oxfordshire lane rental scheme to reduce the time spent on roadworks

ABOUT 10 roads in central Henley are expected to fall under a new scheme designed to reduce the length of time of roadworks.

Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, is expected to introduce their lane rental scheme on Tuesday, May 5.

The county council first applied in 2023 and the scheme was approved by government in November.

It will allow the authority to charge up to £2,500 per day for work on the busiest roads at peak traffic times.

The council’s own roadworks would not be exempt from the charges and emergency roadworks would be given a 48-hour grace period.

The overall aim would be to reduce delays and congestion across the county.

Roads in Henley that the county council have listed include Bell Street, New Street, Friday Street and Reading Road.

Town and county councillor, Stefan Gawrysiak, said: “With the lane rental scheme coming, if you look on the maps for Henley, it covers all of the strategic routes, which is very good. I welcome this as a positive development. When a utility company comes in because there’s a water leak or a gas leak, or an electrical problem, which is of course critical, they obviously have to fix the issue and we obviously understand that.

“The problem we have though in Henley is when they fix the issue, normally it takes them two or three days to reinstate the road surface and then remove the traffic light system, if there is one.

“That’s really the problem. A repair which should take four hours a day has extended into five days, which is annoying and problematic for both motorists and residents.

“I do welcome the lane rental system because it should hopefully force utility companies to remove their equipment as quickly as they possibly can.”

Cllr Gawrysiak said that he would like an additional clause that is not “part of the rules”.

He added: “What I would like, is when there is a repair to a major road in Henley, for example like Hart Street or Reading Road, they should actually complete the repair at night and then it wouldn’t inconvenience the motorists. So, for example, they shouldn’t complete works between 8am and 6pm.

Councillor Andrew Gant, the county council’s cabinet member for transport management, said: “It is in everyone’s interests for utility companies to minimise the impact their work has on our highway network, and a lane rental scheme is one way to achieve this.

“If they know they are going to be charged for the length of time they spend there, it is an incentive to complete the job as swiftly as possible. We look forward to being able to implement it and reap the benefits for everyone in Oxfordshire.”

A spokesman for the county council added: “Similar schemes already operate in London, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex and government evaluations have shown each to be an effective way to reduce the duration of work and the impact of resulting congestion on the busiest parts of road networks.”