“My constituents have been telling me how much this has affected them and their families. From bus drivers having to drop children miles from their designated stops, from carers unable to reach those in need of care, these roadworks are far from a minor inconvenience: they’re having a real impact on all aspects of residents’ lives.”
Daisy Cooper MP has been working to ensure that the utilities company responsible for the Redbourn Road roadworks is aware of the disruption caused by its lack of communication to residents.
Ahead of the roadworks commencing on 13 September, the MP had already requested an urgent meeting with Affinity Water after being contacted by residents asking what the plans were, having not received any communication from the Affinity.
During the meeting, which took place on 10 September, Daisy highlighted the lack of communication from the company, which subsequently agreed to send out last-minute letters to residents along Redbourn Road, as well as emails and text messages to the wider area that signposted to its webpage.
Daisy said: “My constituents have been telling me how much this has affected them and their families. From bus drivers having to drop children miles from their designated stops, from carers unable to reach those in need of care, these roadworks are far from a minor inconvenience: they’re having a real impact on all aspects of residents’ lives.
“This impact could have been minimised if residents had been made more aware of the scale of the works and been able to plan ahead.
“I’ve already been in touch with Affinity Water since that meeting to pass on feedback from my constituent. I’ll continue to liaise with the company in order to ensure that it’s keeping residents informed about any further developments or changes of plans.
St Albans City & District Council leader, Councillor Chris White, who was also at the 10 September meeting, said: “I have been tackling Affinity now for some months about their cavalier attitude to road works: signage and advance warning has been especially poor and there can be no excuse for that, especially for planned works.”