Work on one of the borough’s ambitious new relief roads has been halted after the contractors had their licence revoked.
The Shinfield Eastern Relief Road is being built by Hochtief on behalf of the University of Reading, as part of the South of M4 Strategic Development Location plan.
It was due to be finished by the end of the summer, but the project has been delayed.
In recent weeks, the company obtained permission from Wokingham Borough Council not to build a noise dampening fence for residents in Cut Bush Lane.
Now, following a site inspection by Wokingham Borough Council highway officials, the company has had its Section 50 licence temporarily withdrawn after parts of its work were considered unacceptable. Without this licence, Hochtief cannot complete the highways aspect of its work, although the company said that work is continuing elsewhere.
Safety requirements
A spokesperson for Hochtief confirmed that their licence had been temporarily revoked.
They told The Wokingham Paper: “Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) highways officers monitor all projects in the borough to ensure their requirements and conditions combining safety, quality of work and timescales are met.
“During a recent inspection on site at the Shinfield Eastern Relief Road (SERR), some items were not considered acceptable to WBC.
“As such, WBC has temporarily withdrawn the Section 50 Licence, which is required to carry out work on a public highway. However, activities are continuing on the project away from the public highway interface areas.”
The company added that it was looking to complete the work as soon as it can.
The spokesperson added: “We are working closely with the WBC highways team to resolve the remaining documentation issues and to resume work to complete the project as quickly as possible.”
Wokingham Borough Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Malcolm Richards, said: “We are working closely with HOCHTIEF to resolve the remaining issues to ensure work on the project is completed as soon as possible.
“Activities are currently continuing on the project away from the public highway.”
