HUNDREDS OF complaints have been made to utility companies by councils in Tayside and Fife over shoddy reinstatement of dug-up roads.

Authorities have had to carry out emergency repairs on roads left in a dangerous condition by private companies.

In one case, Perth and Kinross Council had to step in to carry out their own repairs because of the severity of the defect left behind by cable company Telewest in Glover Street, Perth.

They have also had to make several temporary repairs elsewhere while dozens of other complaints about unsatisfactory work remain outstanding.

Although councils can make official complaints to utilities, they have no power to fine firms if their work is not up to scratch.

Dundee City Council made 74 separate complaints to six different utility companies last year, up from 62 the year before. Perth and Kinross made 199 complaints, down from 236 the previous year.

Complaints range from work simply not being completed to contractors using wrong materials. Contractors have failed to replace double yellow lines or extended double yellows further than they should.

Worst single offender is Scottish Water. Over the last four years Dundee City Council has complained about their contractors’ work 92 times, with 23 complaints in 2006/07 alone—six still outstanding.

Scottish Water’s record is even worse in Perth and Kinross—110 complaints in 2006/07, with more than half (63) of these still to rectify.

Others with lengthy charge sheets include Scotland Gas Networks—17 complaints from Dundee City Council in 2006/07 and 30 from Perth and Kinross.

A Perth and Kinross spokesman said they bill utility companies for any repair work the council has to do. “We have a small team dedicated to checking on road reinstatements and making sure they are up to standard,” he said.

“Utility companies are required to give a two-year guarantee on all reinstatements or three years where the excavation is more than 1.5m deep. Failed reinstatements do not meet the criteria, so the guarantee period effectively doesn’t begin until the defect is rectified.

“The basic principle is that whoever makes the excavation is responsible for making it good—they foot the bill for the re- instatement and any failures. If they do not make it good within a reasonable time we have the powers to make the reinstatement good and recover any costs incurred.

“In the case of a ‘dangerous’ defect we have the power to make good the repair immediately and recharge any costs, based on our duty of care to the travelling public.”

He said the council applied the same conditions to private excavations.

Fife Council said they did not keep records of complaints to utility companies but head of transport services Dr Bob McLellan said, “Fife Council carries out random inspections of utility companies’ road reinstatements and may issue an improvement notice if the sample indicates they do not meet the specified performance level.”

A Scottish Water spokes- man said, “We are committed to raising the quality of road repairs. Since 2002, we have been undertaking the biggest renewal of water and sewer infrastructure seen in centuries with an investment of around £4.25bn over an eight-year period. This means we ‘open’ more roads and conduct more repairs than other utilities.

“However, we recognise the need to improve the quality of road repairs completed on our behalf and this is an issue we are tackling.

“We are undertaking actions to improve performance in these areas as well as holding seminars with contractors to ‘name and shame’ offenders and to spell out the kind of performance we demand.

“We have also appointed a specialist manager to oversee this aspect and improvements are being made.

“When we receive complaints from councils about work done, we take these seriously. The time taken to resolve an issue can vary but we are committed to doing so in every case.”