Disruption to roads, pavements – and general life in Marlborough by all the digging up

At Monday (17 October) evening’s meeting of the Town Council Planning Committee, a member of the public asked the Committee – ‘What was the Town Council doing about disruption to roads and pavements caused by multiple utility works and roadworks?’ as the constant stream of disruptive works (including unexplained appearances of ‘phantom traffic lights) was making life hell for residents, visitors, and hitting the economy of the Town.

The picture above dates back to April this year, one Saturday lunchtime, but these disruptive incidents have multiplied and got much much worse and numerous in recent weeks and months.

We have the Thames Water ‘incidents’ recently in Salisbury Rd where Marlborough North-South traffic almost ground to a halt over the weekends. We now have the contractors of the broadband fibre installers (Giganet, Gigaclear) digging trenches, holes wherever they want, doing whatever they need and whenever they need and with minimal (if any) advance warning. The recent daytime closure over a weekend of George Lane at three days notice is a perfect example of this, but it’s not unique, far from it.

Numerous other recent examples have been reported to Marlborough.news by residents. A resident complained that the pavement outside their property was dug up, a trench created (probably to take the conduit of a fibre cable), filled in, work eventually completed, only for another contractor to appear a couple of days later to dig another identical trench, parallel to but inches away from the first, to repeat the exercise (probably for the other broadband fibre contractor). No co-ordination.

The chair of the Planning Committee – Councillor James Sheppard expressed real concern about what was going on. He was astounded to learn that none of the utility/service companies were obliged to talk to each other or share maps and were not obliged to share information with Wiltshire Council (Cllr Sheppard is also Vice Chair of Wiltshire Council); he believed a Government directive was required to improve the situation.

Cllr Nick Fogg pointed out that the service companies (broadband fibre contractors) had a statutory right to carry out works. The Town Council had no authority over Highways. A Wiltshire Council (WC) Officer liaises with various organisations and can discuss timing but otherwise is obliged to grant all requests if there is no good reason to refuse.

Cllr Sheppard suggested that Councillors and members of the public and press could approach Danny Kruger, Devizes constituency MP to highlight these issues and ask for the national process to be improved. Councillor Caroline Thomas (also Wiltshire Councillor) noted that she hoped to work with the Area Board to schedule a future meeting dedicated to discussing roads and traffic.

So will this make much difference? We can only hope so. It’s beyond the remit of the Town Council. The different ‘silos’ within Wiltshire Council seem unable to communicate, liaise and co-ordinate these works, but the most effective route forward will be – as Cllr Sheppard suggested – to lobby MP Danny Kruger.