“Under the FOI Act, please provide:-
1a) The total number of scheduled road maintenance carried out to roads in your council area in the financial years of:
2014/2015
21,497 Utility works
3,216 Devon maintenance works
417 Private works
2015/2016
22,123 Utility works
2,725 Devon maintenance works
683 Private works
2016/2017
20,437 Utility works
4,332 Devon maintenance works
650 Private works
1b) Out of the above numbers, how many of those scheduled roadworks overran (in days) in the same financial years of:
2014/2015
367 jobs at 1,337 days
2015/2016
275 jobs at 329 days
2016/2017
56 jobs at 74 days up to Quarter 3. Please note that the final quarter of this period is not yet available.
1c) For each year, please provide a breakdown and give the reasons why scheduled maintenance works overran their schedules.
The top reasons for extensions are as listed below:-
- Adverse weather conditions
- Unforeseen engineering difficulties
- Equipment failure
- Resources needed elsewhere due to emergency situations
- Emergency works that have been difficult to complete
- Poor planning but where it is in the public interest not to instruct the works to be stopped
1d) Which roadworks resulted in the longest delay? Please state on which portion this happened (Geographical location or between which junctions.) Please also state reasons for delays for all three financial years.
2014/2015
2015/2016
2016/2017
Unfortunately, Devon County Council is unable to supply you with this information.
Whilst the information you have requested does sit within our electronic and paper filing systems, these systems are not set up to easily extract this information.
From our preliminary assessment, we estimate that compliance with your request would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000. This is currently £450 or 18 hours of officer time. To obtain the data it is estimated we would need to look at around 75,000 notices (across the 3 financial years) which would roughly take 5 minutes for each to locate, retrieve and extract this information therefore taking in the region of 6,250 hours.
However, if you are able to refine your request so that it may fall within the cost limit as described above, we would be happy to review your request.
In relation to fines to utility companies carrying out maintenance works to roads, please tell me:
a) The total amount of fines in pounds the council charged to utility companies for overstaying and other penalties in the financial years of:
2014/2015
Total = £34,875
Over run charges (S74) = £15,600
Fixed Penalty Notices = £8,160
Defective works (S72) £11,115
2015/2016
Total = £29,065
Over run charges (S74) = £13,250
Fixed Penalty Notices = £2,800
Defective works (S72) £13,015
2016/2017
Total = £11,277.50
Over run charges (S74) = £250
Fixed Penalty Notices = £2,240
Defective works (S72) = £8,787.50
b) Please tell me which utility company was charged the most amount and why in the years:
2014/2015 – Wales and West Utilities for over running works.
2015/2016 – Wales and West Utilities for over running works.
2016/2017” – BT for defective reinstatements.