BT fined £21K over ‘unsafe’ walkway during works
By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter
British Telecommunications (BT) has been fined £21,000 for leaving an ‘unsafe’ hole in a London walkway.
Westminster Magistrates court fined the comms giant £15,000 on Wednesday, May 10, for works it carried out on Campden Street in Kensington.
BT was also ordered to pay out £2,000 to victims and another £4,500 to cover Kensington and Chelsea council’s legal costs.
The West London council took BT to court after they failed to fix the hole and repave the walkway within two hours of the job being done on October 4, 2022.
Pictures from the scene show Campden Street walkway left with uneven pavement stones and a gaping ditch brimming with turf.
BT was charged with three offences under the New Roads and Street Works Act, including failing to put up safety barriers and fully re-felling their excavation as well as failing to cooperate with the Highways Authority.
The council claimed the deserted works presented multiple trip hazards to the public.
The court heard how BT failed to put measures in place and co-operate with the Highways Authority and Kensington and Chelsea council had to instruct their own contractor to attend the site and place barriers to protect members of public.
Councillor Cem Kemahli, the cabinet member for road and pavement works, said: “Anyone who carries out works on our streets has a duty of care towards the public. We are striving for a safer Kensington and Chelsea and if companies fail to meet their responsibilities, we will step in to keep the public safe.
“This is a great result for our team who are working hard to educate and hold those responsible to account”.
Openreach, which manages BT’s infrastructure, said it was sorry its contractors failed to meet the company’s own standards.
A company spokesman said: “We’re sorry that our partners didn’t meet our own high standards for street works on this occasion and we accept full responsibility.
“We are working with our partners to avoid the same mistakes happening again.”
Pictured top: Kensington and Chelsea Council said BT failed to fix the problem on Campden Street in Kensington within two hours (Picture: Kensington and Chelsea council)