Wandsworth Council has taken BT’s Openreach to court for the third time and won: £5,800 for working on Clarendon Drive in Putney without permission.
The case is the latest round in a secret battle taking place under our feet. Openreach has asked Wandsworth 2,397 times in the past year for permission to dig up its roads and pavements to lay or fix fast internet connections – and was turned down 738 times, nearly a third of the time and double the typical rate.
The Clarendon Drive is an example of what’s going wrong. In April, Openreach asked permission to dig up pavement a few weeks later on Saturday 2 May, and was told no. So it asked for Saturday 4 July, and was told no again. On Wednesday 22 April it asked a third time and got a yes, but for a date five months out – Tuesday 1 September.
Two days later, on Friday 24 April, Openreach did the work anyway, four months early, but clearly within the timeframe it wanted to work on the street.
It appears the council didn’t notice at the time. But BT still had one issue: it must have the paperwork to cover the dig. So, one week later, on 1 May, someone at Openreach logged into the system and changed the agreed September permit date to 24 April.
It was noticed almost immediately and an hour and a half later the council withdrew it. We don’t know if there was any direct communication past that point but that same afternoon Openreach then applied for a new retrospective permit covering 4pm to 6.30pm on 24 April, with the time records showing the work as complete.
Four days later, the council approved the work order but clearly decided to take action for the retrospective works and last week, magistrates fined Openreach £3,000 and ordered the company to pay a £1,200 victim surcharge and £1,600 in prosecution costs. The total £5,800 must be paid within 28 days.
The bigger question is: how often does this happen, and why does BT Openreach in particular have both the highest number of applications for digging up the road, and the highest percentage of rejections from Wandsworth Council?
We went through a year of government roadworks records, every request and refusal.
Members can read the reasons councils give for turning down permits like these, and how the council treats its own roadworks teams. They also get two more Putney streets where Openreach’s paperwork came after the work.
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What members get from this story
- The reasons councils give for turning down permits like these
- How the council treats its own roadworks teams, and how often they file late
- Two more Putney streets where Openreach’s paperwork came after the work
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What you can do
- To comment on roadworks or report a problem with works on your street, email the council’s street works team at streetworks@wandsworth.gov.uk. Works on red routes are TfL’s.
- To see planned works near you, use the council’s roadworks map.
- To have your say on the £2,500-a-day charge, respond to the consultation by Friday 13 November.
- The council’s cabinet member for transport is Cllr Nick Austin: cllr.n.austin@wandsworth.gov.uk.
