A TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm has been fined £36,000 after being taken to court by a Hampshire council.

Hampshire County Council took legal action against BT Openreach for causing avoidable disruption on the roads in the county.

At Southampton Magistrates Court, BT Openreach pleaded guilty and was fined for two failures to comply with directions from the County Council about what times of day to use temporary traffic lights while installation works were being carried out in Twyford and Bishopstoke.

The authority cannot refuse works, but does have legal powers to request specific timing to reduce traffic congestion.

Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Hampshire County Council councillor Rob Humby said: “We work very hard with utility companies and works contractors to co-ordinate works so that essential service supplies are provided and the roads are maintained, while at the same time making sure everyone else can go about their day to day business.

“It’s a difficult balancing act. We know how frustrating it can be to face delays on the roads, and we also know how important it is to have reliable water, telephone, energy and broadband.  "However, we do have a duty to minimise disruption for residents and drivers, and I very much hope contractors recognise that when they repeatedly fail to stick to agreements and unnecessarily disrupt the public, we will take action.”

Southampton Magistrates Court found BT Openreach guilty of failure to comply with the County Council’s request to use traffic lights during off peak times only for works carried out in Twyford in December 2016, and a request to use traffic lights only at night for works in Bishopstoke in February this year. These failures to comply resulted in unnecessary disruption to the travelling public.

An Openreach spokesperson said: “We apply for permission to complete more than 5,800 jobs involving street-works in Hampshire in the last calendar year – and we always seek to follow legal guidelines and procedures. The vast majority of these jobs are approved and completed without a hitch, but we got it wrong in these two cases, and we apologise.”