Paid-for permits for utility companies wanting to dig up public highways in Bradford could come into force next year.

Under the scheme Bradford Council would be able to ask the companies to reschedule their working hours and have an input in how they organise traffic management.

The firms would pay a fee to the highway authority to do works, with revenue from the permits used to fund the scheme.

It comes after deep excavation works were carried out by Northern Gas Networks in Myers Lane, Bolton, Bradford, two months after the road surface was repaired by Bradford Council, leading to accusations of “bad planning”.

Full story in Tuesday's Telegraph & Argus