Two pioneer Lane Rental schemes in Kent and London where utility companies are charged up to £2,500 a day for carrying out roadworks on busy roads at the busiest times will continue – and could be further extended to others areas in England.
The Lane Rental schemes were due to end in March 2019 but, due to their success, both Kent and Transport for London will carry on implementing their schemes. The Department for Transport is considering rolling out the Lane Rental scheme to other areas in England following a consultation earlier this year.
Announcing the decision, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the schemes have halved disruption to drivers caused by roadworks in Kent and London will continue to deliver better journeys in the future, commenting:
“Roadworks cause no-end of problems for drivers when they’re done on busy roads and at peak times. We’ve seen disruption to road users severely drop when works are carried out on quieter stretches away from heavy traffic.
Allowing Kent and London to continue with their Lane Rental schemes will mean millions of drivers will have better journeys.”
DoT: "roadworks cost economy in England £4bn in increased expenses to business"
According to the Department of Transport , 2.5 million roadworks are carried out each year in England, costing the economy £4 billion as business expenses are increased due to employees turning up late and delayed deliveries.
The Lane Rental scheme allows local authorities to charge utility companies at peak times or by the hour or day to carry out works on busy routes, encouraging firms to switch to quieter roads and to avoid peak times.
The DoT said that businesses are also incentivised to collaborate on works to avoid the same stretch of road to be dug up twice. In London utility companies have worked together more than 600 times since the scheme began in 2015, up from just 100 beforehand.
Glynn Barton, Director of Network Management at TfL said:
“Our Lane Rental scheme helps us improve how London’s roads operate for everyone. By encouraging roadworks to take place away from the busiest roads at busiest times the scheme has been a resounding success in reducing the amount of congestion in London caused by roadworks – helping to improve journey times for bus passengers, cyclists and drivers, while tackling emissions.”
Lane Rental is one of a number of tools TfL using to tackle congestion in London such as reducing the time taken to clear up unplanned incidents, reviewing traffic signal timings, re-routing bus routes to avoid the busiest central London streets, and ensuring utilities and roadworks are better coordinated.
Matthew Balfour, Kent County Council’s cabinet member for Highways, commented:
“Kent County Council is pleased that with the removal of the sunset clause it is able to continue its successful Lane Rental scheme.
“The scheme has incentivised a change in how work is carried out on the busiest parts of Kent’s road network so that disruption is minimised by: working differently with new technology; thinking differently about how work is carried out; working at different times of day; and better planning of work.”
Currently, most highways authorities use a permit scheme to oversee road works. If the Lane Rental scheme is rolled out across the country, it would give councils extra powers to manage works on the busiest routes and at peak times. Changes could be introduced in 2019.
Utilities question need for further roll out
Street Works UK, the UK’s only trade association which represents utilities and their contractors on street works issues, is questioning the wider roll out of lane rental schemes.
Commenting on the Government’s announcement, Kent Bob Gallienne, Chief Executive of Street Works UK, said:
“Utilities are committed to undertaking street works in a way which minimises road occupation and causes as little disruption to road users as possible. While we understand the rationale for extending these specific lane rental trials, we do not believe a wider roll out of lane rental schemes would achieve the Government’s ultimate ambition to reduce congestion for road users.”
“Street Works UK believes that a more consistent, streamlined and well defined approach at a national level can best deliver continued investment in key infrastructure as well as reduced disruption to road users and we look forward to working with Government to find the best ways of achieving this.”
Ray Moulds, Sales Director at Flood Control International, takes a look at how automated sliding floodgates are supporting secondary containment at water and sewerage company sites.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.