Lane rental charges for utility companies will be applied to footways in London for the first time from May. Works that impact the busiest areas of pavement will be charged £350 a day.

It is hoped that disruption will reduce for those on foot caused by roadworks blocking pavements.

The move was welcomed by Living Streets’ vice president Susan Claris of Arup. “It is a great step forward to see pavements being given level footing with roads in Transport for London’s expanded lane rental scheme,” she said. “For too long, the footway has been disrupted by roadworks and not protected as a space for walking.”

Susan added that the last year has shown how space needs to be expanded for walking. “There has been a significant increase in walking since the pandemic started,” she said. “Thirty one percent of Londoners say they are walking to places where they used to travel by a different mode, 57% say they now walk more for exercise and 42% walk for longer than they did before.”

Lane rental was introduced for works on certain carriageways in London in 2012 and currently charges firms a daily fee to dig the road at the busiest times and locations. Further changes to the scheme in May will see it applied to more of Transport for London's primary road network, up from 56 to 69%.

As part of the changes, charging periods will no longer apply between 8pm and 10pm to encourage more off peak work on the road. The lowest ‘band’ charges will increase from £800 to £1000 a day, with a new middle band of £1500 being introduced alongside the maximum daily fee of £2500.

Transport for London's director of network management Glynn Barton said: “London’s road network plays an absolutely vital role in keeping the capital moving and this has become more apparent than ever over the last year, with our pavements in particular playing a key role in enabling safer walking journeys.”

But the introduction of a lane rental charge on footways is not supported by Street Works UK, which represents utility contractors.

“We believe the lane rental scheme is not the correct tool to control works in these locations that affect solely pedestrians,” said its chief executive Clive Bairsto. “The current permit scheme makes provision for conditions to be applied to permits, so work which can ensure adequate provision is made for the safety of pedestrians.”

(Photograph: Transport for London)