To receive the above report.

Chris Wheeler, Highways & Transport Business Manager, stated the report was an update on the previous paper brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel. There had been a lot of change with funding criteria and funding would now be based on good practice. Some of the other key points of the revised paper included:

Ø  A strategy document had been produced

Ø  The strategy document explained the different ways to invest funding.

Ø  There was a longer term programme which offered better value for money.

Ø  The paper discussed different types of treatments used in the Borough.

Ø  The Highways Inspection Guide was included in the paper.

Ø  There was a strong asset management approach.

Ø  As there were policy elements it was recommended that the report was added to the forward plan for Cabinet.

Councillor Sharma stated the document was very detailed and he found it interesting that the borough was able to provide an affordable level of service that residents trust. He felt the document provides reliable roadwork information and was acting on customer feedback. He added the report supported economic growth and sustainability within the borough and that he was pleased it was easy to do business with suppliers and providers ensuring there was better value for money.

Chris Wheeler confirmed that the strategy within the report was about understanding resources that were available; looking at outcomes; customer satisfaction and aligning the borough’s plans with that. Funding from central government was scored against the following list:

Ø  Key stakeholder agreement

Ø  Taking into account best practice documents

Ø  Carrying out gap analysis on potholes and drainage.

Ø  Three quarters of the items are in the green with a quarter of the items in amber so the borough was in a good position

Ø  The borough would be measured on resilienceAll the information on how the borough would be scored for funding was on the DfT website.

Ø  The finance section of the report explained what the different bands meant financially.

The website address for the information on incentive funding was: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-incentive-element

the borough would be audited on performance.

Councillor Beer suggested that the Cycle Forum should be a key consultee regarding highway maintenance and that cyclists should be highlighted in the stakeholders section of the report. Chris Wheeler confirmed that officers attended the Cycle Forum regularly so any feedback from the Forum would be fed back and reviewed. There were also cycle audits where the borough’s roads were looked at through the eyes of a cyclist.

David Perkins, Head of Neighbourhood & Streetscene Delivery confirmed there was an increase in the amount of activity by utility companies digging up the roads in the borough. It was something the borough was aware of as there had been lots of feedback and comments from Members and residents. It was fair to say that some utility companies tended to work at their own pace. His team had been looking at introducing a permit based scheme which would tell the utility companies what is expected of them and would give the borough more control over what they do; a permit scheme meant that the borough could insist on conditions.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED: That:

1. Highways, Transport & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel endorse the strategy, policy and guidance set out in the HAMP documents and agreed that it should be added to the forward plan for Cabinet for formal adoption in January 2016.
2. The Cycle Forum should be a key consultee regarding highway maintenance and should be highlighted as a stakeholder in the report.