FOI Request - Roadside Clutter
Request 101004013497
Please treat the following as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, where it concerns held environmental information, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
1. Do your roadworks and highway-maintenance contracts place an explicit obligation on contractors to remove all temporary signage, sign frames, sandbags and traffic cones on completion of the works, and if so, within what timescale?
2. When contractors bid on these contracts, do they include and charge you for the cost of that equipment? A general description of the contractual treatment is sufficient; we do not seek commercially sensitive rates. If you are able to share an indicative or aggregate value without breaching commercial confidence, that would be welcome.
3. Once the works are complete, do your contractors (or the utilities and works promoters operating under your permit scheme) have any contractual or commercial incentive to recover that equipment, and is non-recovery subject to any penalty, performance deduction or recharge?
4. Are contractors’ removal of redundant equipment inspected or monitored? In 2024/25 and 2025/26 to date, how many times have you applied a penalty, performance deduction or recharge for failure to remove redundant roadworks equipment, and what total sum did that amount to? If this is not recorded, please say so.
5. For the two financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26 to date, broken down by year: how many reports of abandoned or redundant roadworks equipment did you receive; how many items or loads (or, if recorded, what tonnage) did you remove; and how many reports were recorded as cleared? If you do not record this in a distinct category, please say so.
6. What was your total expenditure on clearing abandoned or redundant roadworks equipment in 2024/25 and in 2025/26 to date, including labour, plant, traffic management, disposal and contractor charges? If this is not kept separate from general highway maintenance or street-cleansing budgets, please confirm that.
7. Approximately how much does it cost you to clear a single report, item, or a typical clearance visit? If this is not recorded, an estimate, or the basis you would use, is welcome.