Inverclyde Council hands out just £4,000 in roadworks fines

Telecoms firm BT was the worst culprit with 24 fixed penalty notices handed out by Inverclyde Council...but none of the penalties came to more than £120.

Software experts SPPS were handed 12 fines, and broadband provider Trooli got six.

The figures were obtained by the Telegraph from watchdog body, the Scottish Road Works Commissioner under Freedom of Information (FOI).

Scottish Water and Scottish Gas were also hit with fixed penalty notices.

But the total amount handed out in fines in Inverclyde came to only £4,040.

Most of the fines were for breaches of the rules around paperwork and other forms of red tape

This included late notification of completion of works, work being started at a time earlier than given, changing the start time without authorisation, or the late submission of documents.

The FPNs related to almost 350 days of scheduled works between August last year and October this year at locations across Greenock and Inverclyde, including Port Glasgow Road, Kilmacolm Road and Ardgowan Street.

READ MORE: Inverclyde hit by 1,850 days worth of roadworks in 12 months

A total of 51 fines were issued by Inverclyde Council, with one later being withdrawn.

An Openreach spokesperson, commenting on behalf of BT, said: “We’re building a new, full fibre broadband network for Inverclyde, which now reaches 15,000 homes and businesses in places like Gourock, Port Glasgow, and Greenock.

"It’s a once-in-a-lifetime upgrade, involving an army of engineers, build contractors and suppliers.

“We can’t always avoid roadworks – and we account for more than a third of all this type of notice needed in Inverclyde.

"That equalled 400 notices last year and only a small percentage incurred a fine.

"We’ve faced increased fines after recent legislation changes, which mean we now have two hours to let the council know when we start and stop work compared to the next day previously.

"We’re working with all our contractors to adapt and improve our performance.”

Roadworks on the A8 alone in Inverclyde totalled 1,851 days in the year to July 31. (Image: Newsquest)

A Telegraph investigation identified eleven roadworks blackspots on an eight mile stretch of the A8 between the village of Langbank at the border with Inverclyde and the centre of Greenock in the past 12 months.

The figures, also obtained from the Scottish Road Works Commissioner under FOI, detailed 321 roadworks on that stretch, which were scheduled to last a total of 1851 days.

Government body Transport Scotland, which runs the country's trunk road network, is listed as responsible for a total of 227 of the area's roadworks schemes - 70 per cent of all works.

Local business owners have previously expressed concerns that the gridlock created by the roadworks could be a factor in the area's long term population decline.

READ MORE: Inverclyde businessman says drop in footfall is linked to depopulation and poor road links

They fear people are choosing to live elsewhere because of the time taken to negotiate the works, particularly during rush hours.

They further fear that the roadworks, combined with poor transport links, were deterring firms from investing in the area.

Calls have also been made for a by pass for Inverclyde to ease congestion in Port Glasgow and Greenock, similar to the M77 on the south side of Glasgow and the A78 for Saltcoats and Ardrossan.

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “Enforcement action is always a last resort but we have a statutory obligation under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 as a roads authority to ensure road works are carried out in line with legislation and that they are completed as quickly as possible and within agreed timescales.

“On occasions when this does not happen, we have the powers to issue fixed penalty notices to help cover costs associated with, for example delayed works or incomplete paperwork, and to serve as a deterrent to ensure all local and national rules and regulations are adhered to in future.”