Street Works Permit Schemes

Yotta is helping councils across England improve the management and coordination of street works. Following changes in legislation, local authority Permit Schemes no longer require approval by the Secretary of State.  Instead the approval process is being transferred to the authorities themselves. Yotta consultants, with extensive knowledge of street work legislation, specifically permit schemes, have already helped a number of councils prepare, approve and implement permit schemes ensuring technical compliance with all relevant regulations. Yotta’s Mayrise Street Works software is also being used to manage a number of existing Permit Schemes providing a solution specifically designed to automate the permit application process.

Yotta’s Mayrise Consultants have already signed off a significant number of permit schemes as EToN compliant including users of Mayrise Street Works as well as users of other street works management software. These include approvals for Brighton and Hove City Council, Southampton and Knowsley Councils, Halton and Warrington Borough Councils and Cheshire West and Chester Council, to name just a few.

Jeff Elliot, Highway & Traffic Manager at Brighton and Hove City Council, commented, “We are a long term user of Yotta’s Mayrise software including Mayrise for Street Works; in fact we were one of the first users of their hosted solution. In preparation for our scheme Yotta Mayrise consultants helped us prepare and approve a number of work themes including technical elements of the Scheme Document, detailing how the scheme will operate and comply with EToN and essential data reporting and preparation.”

Prior to the recent change in legislation a council wishing to introduce a permit scheme was required to submit their proposals to the Secretary of State for assessment and approval.

Any subsequent variation or revocation of schemes also had to be considered by the Secretary of State. This was a lengthy and costly process with an estimated cost per application to the government of £9,000. The change in the approval process has been introduced as Permit schemes already in place prove they work and are delivering promising improvements to the management and effective use of the road network.

Since the introduction of their permit scheme, Kent County Council has been able to demonstrate a reduction in network disruption and public complaints and an increase in collaborative working resulting in a significant road user time savings. Kent County Council was the first authority to introduce a Department for Transport approved permit scheme and uses Yotta’s Mayrise Street Works software to administer the scheme and automate the permit application process.

Jeff Elliot of Brighton & Hove Council continued, “With the EToN sign off from Yotta Mayrise we are confident our Permit Scheme will provide key benefits for residents, businesses and visitors including reduced disruption, improved reliability of journey times and better communication. The Permit Scheme will also provide the Council with better control of activities on the network, a reduction in road work volume, size and duration and a range of other social and economic benefits.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council also decided to work with consultants from Yotta to ensure the technical compliance of their proposed Permit Scheme. The Council had already approached a number of other organisations, including the supplier of their street works management software, before selecting Yotta. The decision to work with Yotta was based on the proven experience and track record of successful scheme sign off processes, as well as value for money.

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