Highways

Lancashire Highways, your single point of contact for all highway matters.

Lancashire County Council maintains and improves approximately 3528 miles of road, 1402 bridges, 229 traffic signaled crossings, and 153,000 street lights each year.

Whether it's a faulty street light, a pot hole or a road that needs salting, this is the organisation to do it. We want to offer you a completely interactive and seamless service and so this web page along with a Lancashire Highways Customers Services Centre on Tel: 0845 053 0011 will be your access point for all highway maintenance information.

The Council is responsible for repairs and administrating highways legislation via the Highways Act 1980 and the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA). This includes planned and emergency maintenance surveys and street works.

The Highway network is the most valuable asset that the County Council manages and maintains. It is the key to achieving many of the County Councils business objectives, providing the means by which children get to school, the elderly receive home help, waste is transported and County Council staff deliver services around the county. The highway network provides the basic underpinning transport foundations of modern society.

Lancashire County Council is the highway authority and so we maintain the highway network. If you wish to report a highway fault or have any query about the highway the telephone number is 0845 053 0011

Contact:

Highways
Customer Service Centre
Lancashire County Council
Preston
PR1 8RD

Phone 0845 053 0011   Email highways@lancashire.gov.uk:

Flooding on the Highway

Flooding is a natural occurrence and no drainage system or flood protection measures can give an absolute protection from all flooding events. The impact of flooding on the community and health and safety risks are significant and the Environment Agency has a flood watch and warning system in place and a flood line number 0845 9881188 to call in the event of property flooding.

Flooding on the highway cam be reported to the Highways department. Flooding on private or un adopted roads or private property is not the responsibility of the Highways. In these cases we will report the defect to the City Council.

Footway Obstructions

Street works, road works,skips,scaffolds, hoarding's, advertising boards and building materials that block the footway are all considered to be causing an obstruction to pedestrians.

If you encounter any of the following problems, please report it to us by ringing the contract centre.

• a skip or scaffolding that is obstructing the footway.
• no barriers around steelworks/roadwork's or building work, which is affecting pedestrian safety.building
• materials that are blocking the footway.
  
• an advertising board that is blocking the footway.
  
• banners or bunting that is causing and obstruction.

Potholes

A pothole is where the surface of the road has been eroded and a hollow has formed. The Council, as Highway Authority, has responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the High.

The severity of the pothole and, therefore, the criteria for attention is determined by the risk it poses to road users. This is difficult to judge since all potholes present some risk. The factors to be taken into account include size and depth of pothole: traffic type, speed and volume; road alignment and visibility and also the position in relation to road width. Potholes can also appear on pavements/footways.

To report a pothole, please contact us directly on the telephone number above.

Street Lighting

The majority of street lights are owned and maintained by Lancashire County Council. To report a fault on a streetlight, an illuminated bollard or traffic sign please telephone Lancashire County Council on 0845 053 0011. There is an answer phone on this number for ant messages to be left out of normal hours. It would be of assistance it the following details could be provided:

The road name, details of the number painted of the equipment or a location such as the nearest house number.

State the type i.e. lamp out, door missing with wires exposed, lantern hanging or columns that are leaning.

Reporting of broken lights may help prevent damage to pedestrians and vehicles. Please help us maintain Lancashire's roads by reporting these faults.

Maintenance of Street Lighting

There are 14,637 lighting units and 2536 illuminated traffic signs on the highway that are procured and maintained by Lancashire County Council.

The Preston City Council Departments of Leisure, Housing and Estates have 500 street lighting installations on their property. These lights are maintained by the City Council. It is the City Council that also provides the annual Christmas Illuminations in Preston city centre. To report a fault on a City Council light in a park for example, please use this email address buildingservices@preston.gov.uk.

Park Wise

Lancashire County Council working in partnership with the 12 District Councils have taken over the responsibility of enforcing parking. Each of the 12 districts have a team of Parking Attendants who patrol the streets and car parks within their boundaries to ensure vehicles have not been parked in contravention of the traffic and parking regulations. Park Wise, which is part of Lancashire County Council, work on behalf of all 12 districts to support the enforcement operation by dealing with appeals, payments and processing of all penalty charge notices that are issued.

Each district council have taken over the responsibilities of traffic wardens where on and off street parking is concerned.

Road Traffic Act 1991.

The Council believes that effective parking enforcement benefits public transport users, pedestrians, cyclists and responsible drivers.

The team also aims to handle all enquiries in a courteous and helpful manner and respond to written challenges or representations about Penalty Charge Notices.

Contacts

Parkwise - for enquiries
PO Box 1023
Lancashire County Council
Preston Lancashire
PR1 3ZA

Telephone 0800 1952774     Email enquiries@parkwise.lancscc.gov.uk

Abandoned Vehicles

The responsibility for the removal of abandoned vehicles, whether on private land or the public highway, lies with the local council.

Preston City Council can:

1. remove an abandoned vehicle from a road (this includes private roads and estates - if the vegicle is on private land your council will serve a 15 day notice of removal on the owner/occupier
2. dispose of abandonded vehicles of no value (if vehicles are considered to be of some value the council will send a written notice of destruction to the owner - if at the end of this notice period the vehicle is unclaimed the council can dispose of it)
3. trace vehicle ownership and impose fines on thoses abandoning vehicles by working with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

Reporting an abandonded vehicle

To report an abandonded vehicle please telephone: 0800 195 2774. Preston City Council will investigate whether the vehicle has been abandonded and carry out checks to see whether it has been stolen or involved in an accident. If the vehicle has been abandonded on a road we will then remove the vehicle.

The police also have the power to immediately remove any vehicle which is left abandonded in breach of local regulation orders, or is causing an obstruction or is likely to cause a danger.

Have you thought about recycling your vehicle? Look in the yellow pages to find your local scrap merchant.