Over the past few months I’ve blogged about the disruption suffered by residents of Eccles Road because of the sewer work being undertaken by Thames Water. The previous posts were: Eccles Road’s Jack and Jill waterworks, Eccles Road waterworks and Eccles Road and traffic.

The report, which is on the council’s website, is a bit slow in coming, largely due to the need to suspend much of the council’s routine activity during the European election purdah.

And, to be fair, the report probably doesn’t satisfy many of the residents. The council is heavily restricted when it comes to works by utility companies, and this comes across quite clearly in the paper. Utility companies have the right to access their infrastructure to carry out work. There is little the council can do about it and, once done, any legal action is a matter for residents and their legal advisors.

One issue that is within the council’s control are parking permits, but here the council will not offer a refund, since a permit is not a guarantee of a parking space and the works only obstructed a small portion of the zone. I know this will disappoint residents.

On a more positive note the council has undertaken a traffic survey since the works were completed to assess the traffic levels and speeds on the road now the road has been re-opened. The data from those surveys is still being analysed. I am currently arranging a meeting with residents and council officers to discuss the potential for road closure.

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