Council fines Thames Water £500k over late roadworks

Thames Water has been fined more than £500,000 in just over two years by a London council for late-running roadworks.

More than 320 roadworks carried out by the water company took longer than scheduled, Wandsworth Council revealed, adding it caused "disruption" to residents.

The council is now demanding the company improves services in the coming months after revealing it had collected the fines from April 2022 to mid-July 2024, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We always aim to work collaboratively with councils to minimise disruption when work takes place.”

More than 170 separate Thames Water roadworks took longer than agreed in the 2022/23 year, with £290,000 in fines issued, according to the council.

This compares to 150 instances in 2023/24, with fines totalling £180,000 handed out.

Since April this year, the council has fined the water company more than £30,000 for late works.

The cash the council collects from Thames Water is used to fund highways improvements across Wandsworth, including repairing potholes and pavements.

Labour council leader Simon Hogg said: “We know that Thames Water has an important job to do. That’s why it’s crucial that they get the work done in the time they commit to.

“When work overruns the advertised timescales, the disruption to local residents, schools, transport services and businesses can be extremely challenging.

"The fact we had to issue fines exceeding £500,000 in a little over two years shows the scale of the problem."

He added: "We are calling for Thames Water to improve time-management processes across Wandsworth so the ‘hand back’ of work is much more punctual.”

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We’re sorry when our roadworks cause disruption and delays to customers and motorists.

"Our teams are working hard to provide reliable water and wastewater services to 16 million customers across the region.

"This involves carrying out works in the public highways to install, maintain, repair and replace our water mains and sewers.

"We always aim to work collaboratively with councils to minimise disruption when work takes place.”

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