Under-fire council leaders have hit back at accusations they are not doing enough to stop traffic gridlock on Norwich's roads - saying the government has denied them new powers which could help ease problems.
Recent days have seen drivers caught in lengthy queues in and around the city, with numerous road schemes happening at the same time.
Some of those - on the A47 and A11 at Thickthorn - are due to work being done by National Highways, but work on Holt Road, near Norwich Airport and Koblenz Avenue near the railway station, is being done by Norfolk County Council.
The county council has a statutory duty to manage roads other than the A47 and A11 and to help avoid, eliminate or reduce congestion - but officials say they do not have as much power as they would like to do that.
It awards permits for the likes of utilities companies to do work, and officials say they try to co-ordinate them to minimise disruption.
But the works often overrun, with council leaders having previously questioned whether the fines which they can impose when that happens is enough to discourage such incidents.
Councils are also unable to refuse permits where emergency work needs to be done.
Hope for new powers dashed
Earlier this year, the council announced it wanted to seek new powers which leaders said could speed up work by utilities companies - by permitting County Hall to charge them daily rates to dig up public roads.
They wanted to be allowed to use lane rental schemes to put pressure on companies to get work done more rapidly.
Such schemes are running in London, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, where councils charge a daily rate of up to £2,500 a day to companies which close roads or lanes.
The goal is to incentivise firms to get roadworks completed more rapidly, so they do not have to pay so much.
Allowing councils like Norfolk to bring in such schemes - and tightening up potential misuse of emergency applications for work - were among recommendations made to the government by a parliamentary transport committee.
But the Department for Transport (DfT) has rejected those and other recommendations - to the frustration of Conservative leaders at County Hall.
Leader Kay Mason Billig, speaking at a meeting of the Conservative-controlled cabinet at County Hall, said: "75pc of all road works are actually down to utility companies. We can't dictate when they occur. We can only ask to try and move the dates around, but the law allows them to do this.
"We truly sympathize with people who find themselves stuck in traffic jams.
"But this is a government issue. There was recently a transport select committee and recommendations were made from that select committee which would give councils far more powers to coordinate road works.
"But this was rejected. it was rejected by the Labour government. The DfT decided that this wasn't something they wanted to do."
Graham Plant, the council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "We know how disruptive roadworks can be for residents and road users across Norfolk.
"The transport select committee’s recommendations offered a positive step forward in making streetworks more efficient and accountable, so it is disappointing and frustrating that the government has chosen to reject the majority of them.
"We will continue to work with national and local partners to push for improvements that benefit our communities."
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What does the government say?
The Department for Transport said investigations had found no evidence of misuse of emergency permits.
And, in rejecting allowing all councils to introduce lane rentals, officials said: "Many local authorities do not experience the levels of congestion necessary to justify the administrative and financial burden of operating such a scheme.
"While we remain committed to empowering local authorities, we must be mindful that there is a risk that extending lane rental powers universally could lead to an inconsistent and fragmented approach across the country.
"Lane rental is a tool to reduce disruption on the busiest roads; it is not designed to be a revenue generator.
"Poorly targeted schemes would fail to reduce congestion and would increase costs for utility companies, which could ultimately be passed on to consumers."
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