Street works are a vital part of ensuring safe, secure and reliable essential services, which underpin the UK economy and make a major contribution to economic growth, both directly through multi billion pound investment in utility networks and indirectly through connecting new businesses and consumers.
In November 2020 Street Works UK revised its Vision for Street Works, which now consists of five key goals. The Vision acts as a catalyst for positive change in driving up the standards of street works in the UK, and builds on the strong collaborative working which Street Works UK and the Joint Authorities Group believe in passionately.
The five key goals are:
Digitalisation – If we are able to help build a digital future that benefits our members, meets the expectations of our partners in government, and provides the service customers and the wider public need, we must know our aims for the digital future.
Innovation – To meet the ambitions set out in our mission statement, our sector has an important role to play in delivering innovation in street works.
Skills and Workforce – Our workforce must be ready to match the scale and speed of street works over the next five years. While utility companies, contractors and local authorities will be working to ensure operatives at all levels are qualified and ready to deliver works, as a sector there are two key challenges that we need to address together.
Collaboration – The industry has seen at first-hand how sector-led collaboration can be used to tackle the most complex works and knotty problems. Our ambition is that this approach be adopted throughout the sector on a consistent basis.
Environment and decarbonisation – Our governments have committed to net zero emissions by 2050, a commitment industry and highways authorities welcome and support. Alongside this sits a grave responsibility to ensure are activities do not harm the environment. Our Vision for industry and highways authorities over the next five years is that active steps are taken to define what practically these strands mean for the street works sector.
