To receive a written update from Ben Smith, Head of Commissioning - Infrastructure.

Christopher Wheeler, Service Improvement Manager - Commissioning and Communities, introduced the item and said the report was requested by the Members in January and was due to be presented in the March meeting, but the meeting was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The paper was a review of the resurfacing programme in general and a focus on surface dressing which was part of asset management. The report covered the asset management approach for highways and how this fitted in with investment modelling. Department for Transport level of recommendation of highway and customer satisfaction was explored in the paper. The report ended with several roads that were surfaced dressed in 2019-20 that had failed. This was due to the surface dressing being laid in September 2019, which was not the best time of year for this work but was the slot allocated by the contractor. The roads were dealt with in May 2020.

Councillor Price said there were failed road dressings that needed to be re-surfaced in the west of Windsor that were not listed in the report. The Members were informed that any known failed road dressings should be reported to the highways mailbox so that they can be investigated.

Councillor Davies said footway in Clewer Park were resurfaced but were uneven, and the Members were informed that the quickest way to report road defects, repairs and fly tipping was through the website.

Councillor Cannon asked what the surface level agreement was for when residents should expect matters to be addressed, such as vegetation over the road. The Members were informed that the regulations had different timeframes depending on the work. For instance, there was a contractual service level agreement for urgent potholes to be dealt with within 24 hours. Overhanging vegetation was particularly pertinent during the growth season. The Borough was limited by the regulations within the Highway Act, as a notice had to be served to the landowner giving them up to 14 days, with up to 21 days for the landowner to appeal. If no action was taken by the landowner, the Borough could then cut back the vegetation and issue the cost to the landowner. The team used social media as a tool to encourage people to take responsibility to cut back vegetation and allow safe footways. A leaflet campaign was due to be launched on a similar basis.

Councillor Cannon asked what the timeframe was if the overgrown hedgerows were the Borough’s ownership. The Members were informed that the Borough was responsible for clearing the footway from overgrown hedgerows. With 600km of highway, it was difficult to maintain the vegetation, particularly during the growing season, where the vegetation could grow back between highway inspections. There was an annual flailing programme where the team reviewed rural roads to clear vegetation. Residents were encouraged to report any overgrown vegetations online using the report it forms. The online forms had been updated to increase clarity in private and highway overhanging vegetation, which is then actioned by the contractors.

(Councillor Davey joined the meeting.)

Councillor Cannon asked for an estimated timeframe to expect highway vegetation to be managed. The Panel were informed the timeframe depended on the length of the road and amount of vegetation. The work needed to be programmed, with the larger and more extensive projects having a longer delay to be managed. Christopher Wheeler said he would speak to the team and come back with an estimated timeframe.