SP Electricity North West Limited (SP ENW) has been ordered to a total of £14,191.60 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to offences relating to the unsafe implementation of traffic management measures, in a prosecution brought by Westmorland and Furness Council
The case was heard at Carlisle Magistrates Court on Thurday (16 April). ENW was fined £5,000 fine under Section 65 of the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991. Costs of £7,191.60 were awarded to the council, and a £2,000 victim surcharge ordered to be paid.
The charges related to an incident on 8 September 2025, when ENW was the statutory undertaker for street works on Ullswater Road, Penrith, where works were carried out without the safety measures required to protect the public. The works undertaken by ENW's subcontractors, Network Plus and Cosmor Groundworks, were conducted in close proximity to a live high-speed carriageway without the appropriate traffic management in place, resulting in a street sign collapsing into the road and striking a passing vehicle. The incident was caught on the vehicle's dash-cam.
Following an investigation by Westmorland and Furness Council, SP ENW were charged with offences under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 relating to inadequate guarding and insufficient signage at the site.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Cabinet Member for Highways and ICT, said: "The serious failings of the companies involved could have led to catastrophic events and it was only by pure luck no-one was seriously injured.
"This outcome reflects the seriousness of the safety failings identified and reinforces the council's commitment to ensuring that all statutory undertakers and their contractors must meet the legal standards required when working on the highway network, and to protect and provide a safe road network for all motorists and pedestrians."
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