Hello, I wish to make a freedom of information request as per the Freedom of Information act (2014). This act states I can make a request in writing or by email. Searching your .pdf file (from your website) regarding how to make a complaint I found this email address. There is a drain (3 drains), covered in tar, outside Costcutter on Vauxhall Bridge Road. I would like to know how many times in the last 5 years it has been 'repaired' and what work was done to repair it. I understand I should receive a suitable reply in 2 weeks time.

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Our ref: FOI-0327-2021/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 2 June 2020 asking for information about drains on Vauxhall Bridge Road.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

We believe the issue that you are referring to is related to a manhole cover.  There have been 10 reports of this between 13/08/2019 and 02/06/2020. We are not able to go further back than this as we no longer have access to our previous contractors data.

This is not owned by Transport for London, therefore we are not able to carry out a permanent repair. Instead we must identify the owner and issue them with a section 81 notice advising that they should either repair it or if it is a redundant pit fill it in. Unfortunately, it is not easy to identify owners of these type of generic manhole covers if they don’t have an ownership badge on them. In this case we were able to lift the cover to look inside the chamber, and found this is a telecoms chamber, and therefore we have to send information to the telecoms utilities in the area one by one to see if anyone comes back claiming ownership.

We sent a section 81 notice to BT on 15/11/2019, however, BT declined ownership. We then sent it to Vodafone who will hopefully be able to attend the site soon and confirm ownership.

 

TfL will not be able to carry out a permanent repair – this has to lie with the utility once we find the owner. However, our contractors are able to carry out temporary repairs until the owner is found.

Please note, the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the coronavirus. It is essential for London, that we continue to provide a safe transport network for essential journeys.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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