Roadworks

Roadworks in the borough

The majority of roadworks in the borough are carried out by private utility companies to install, renew or repair their equipment. This includes:

• National Grid
• BT
• Thames Water

Under New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, utility companies that work on public highways have to comply with requirements including:

• safety of excavations
• reinstatement standards
• qualifications of staff
• notifying the Council of proposed works

Utility companies must obtain a permit from us before they can carry out any works. We receive approximately 12,000 permit applications every year for mainly minor repair works.

Read frequently asked questions.

Traffic Problems in Chelsea

Since Transport for London closed Vauxhall Bridge on the 9 August for repair works we have seen a substantial increase in congestion and traffic disruption in the Chelsea area, particularly on the roads leading to Albert, Battersea and Chelsea bridges.

The problems have been exacerbated by the ongoing closure of Hammersmith Bridge and lane restrictions on Wandsworth bridge which are going to be in place for a further 10 months.

The reduced capacity of existing river crossings has meant more pressure being placed on the bridges in Chelsea and the connecting roads. The Council are pressing Transport for London to look at ways of reducing the impacts currently being felt.

This includes monitoring traffic signal timings and adjusting them according to real time congestion levels. We are also reviewing all planned road works on key routes with a view of rescheduling at a later date. There may be some essential work driven by customer demand and utility regulation requirements which will still need to go ahead. In these cases we will look to agree methods of work that are the least impactful.

Street works register

We are responsible for co-ordinating and monitoring street works carried out by utility companies.

This includes maintaining a register of all planned street works with information about:

• the utility company doing the work
• planned start and ends dates
• location of the works
• a description of the works

Weekly works bulletin

Every week we publish extracts from the register in our bulletin. The bulletin includes details about:

• major activities happening on the public highway
• details about planned council works, crane operations and other major events

For a more detailed list of all works being carried out in the borough then please visit the Public London Works website. 

Transport for London publish their own register of new and updated details about proposed and current roadworks and street related events in Greater London.

View the register.

Do you want to know more about work being carried out by G-Networks across the borough?

G-Network – Who are they and why are they digging up our roads?

G-Network are a private utility company who are laying fibre to the premise broadband (FTTP) which will allow residents and businesses to access speeds of up to 1Gbps compared to speeds of up to 30Mbps for superfast broadband and 100Mbps for ultrafast broadband. Currently in Kensington and Chelsea only 6% of premises have access to FTTP. 92% of premises have access to ultrafast broadband and 98% superfast.
 
The council is eager for residents and businesses to enjoy the full benefits of faster broadband speeds provided by fibre to the premise so we are working closely with G-Networks to help them deliver this service. The successful implementation of FTTP will help the council deliver some of the key priorities outlined in its Council Plan. It will contribute towards the borough being a great place to live and work, enable elderly and vulnerable people to connect with friends and family more easily and will also facilitate access to the museums and places of culture.
 
At the moment G-Networks are working in Colville and Collingham wards. They will shortly begin further work in Queens Gate and Earls Court wards in September with Brompton and Hans Town and Abingdon wards following shortly after in October. G-Network hope to cover 85% of the borough with their service over the next two years, so they will eventually be working in every ward across the council.
 
Because this work involves digging up our roads and pavements it can be very noisy and disruptive. It also involves suspending long lengths of parking bays which will also be challenging for residents. The councils Network Management team are working closely with G-Networks to co-ordinate their work around all the other works that take place on a day to day basis, including our own highway maintenance works and improvement schemes. Where possible they will arrange collaborative working to limit the amount of disruption.
 
Once G-Networks have laid their new network of cables it will make it possible for more people to work from home successfully, particularly where their current broadband is slow or unreliable.
 
If you have any queries or complaints about the G-Network work you should contact them directly on [email protected]

Monitoring street works

We inspect ten percent of works carried out by utility companies as part of our monitoring process.

Inspections take place at each of three different stages every year. If we find anything wrong, we work with the company to sort out any issues. We can issue a fine if they don't comply. In some cases we can complete the works and charge the company for the costs.

We have limited powers to charge companies for not completing their work in good time. Companies can apply for an extension of time due to unforeseen circumstances.

We hold quarterly meetings with utility companies, the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London to discuss major planned projects.

Protecting new footways and roads

Under the New Road and Street Act, we can prevent utility companies from digging up a newly resurfaced road or footway for a certain amount of time.

To do this we can serve a Section 58 legal notice on utility companies who carry out works such as:

• Thames Water
• BT
• Virgin Media
• UK Power Networks
• National Grid

The Section 58 prevents utility companies from digging up the road for a period of between three to five years after the road has been resurfaced or reconstructed. In special cases utility companies can dig up a road if there is an emergency or if they need to provide a new customer service.

Find out about Section 58 restrictions.

Plant enquiries

We do not hold records of underground asset locations owned by utility or private companies. You will need to contact the individual companies directly if you need information.

We are only responsible for street lighting connections and gully connections which are maintained by the Highways Department. However, these services are short local connections between feeder pillar, lamp columns/illuminated bollards and short drain connections from road gullies to main sewers. Currently precise location records are not available for these services..

Utility contact details

You can contact utility companies if you have any questions about work they're doing.