Edinburgh announces crackdown on 'insufficient road repairs'

Date: 2/7/2013

Edinburgh City Council looks set to be the first local authority in Scotland to crackdown on insufficient road repairs after announcing it will inspect every road-work site in the city, the Scotsman reports.

According to the Council, attempts will be made to examine each of the 7,500 repairs carried out by utilities companies in an effort to avoid the risk that work is completed inadequately.

Commenting on the plans, Councillor Lesley Hinds said: "Our aim is to inspect 100 per cent of work sites and go back to ensure faults have been rectified. Utilities companies won’t be allowed to get away with defective work and ensuring this will save taxpayers money in the future."

Under current guidelines, firms can be fined up to £50,000 for failing to carry out repair work appropriately - something that happened to BT recently after it was found guilty of "serious failures" when carrying out restorations in the north of Scotland.

However, the Scottish Government is reportedly looking to impose more severe penalties by increasing the maximum fine to £200,000.

Posted by Sarah Bailey

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