HIGHWAYS
TIMELY TEMPLE WORK
At the beginning of the year, the
highways team was just one council
service enlisted to help with the building
of a new Sikh Temple in King Street,
Southall. The developers needed to
ensure that gas, water and electricity
was available in the new building and
it was the council’s job to maintain the
road outside the building.
Making
it work
When companies dig up the
road to get to underground
pipes or cables it can be
frustrating; that is why the
council’s highways team works
closely with utility firms to
make things happen as fast
as possible and cause the
least disruption.
36
around ealing
Summer 2015
U
tilities companies providing gas,
water and electricity have a legal
right to come into the borough
and carry out work. This could be
to for a new development, to repair something
that has gone wrong or to make improvements
to old systems. This is not always convenient
for everyone and can cause road closures and
traffic diversions while the work is carried out,
or affect residents’ access to the roads they
live in.
This is where Ealing Council’s highways team
has to step in. It works with the companies on
a project-by-project basis to make sure that the
Being a busy corner of Southall’s
second shopping district, King Street
is a heavily used bus and car route
connecting many roads across Southall
Green. By bringing all the companies
together and holding discussions with
the developers, the highways team
was able to help create a schedule of
work to suit everyone and minimise
the disruption, while keeping as many
travel routes operating as possible
while it was under way.
schedules they are all working to complement
each other and, where possible, overlap to
minimise the disruption caused.
The team considers what else might be
happening at the same time, and tries to find
sensible ways to get everyone’s work completed
on time. This could be suggesting things like
working during the night, only on weekends or
during school holidays.
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member
for transport and environment, said: “Inevitably,
larger projects will cause some disruption.
But without the council’s involvement the
companies could work in isolation and could
take months longer to complete their work,
which would, in turn, increase the disruption.
“We have some amazing projects coming
up to improve transport links, housing and
town centres over the next few years and these
companies will all be involved in making those
projects happen. We will continue to work with
all of them and build on the relationships we
have already to make the process as seamless
as possible and minimise the disruption.”