Agenda item

(To receive a report from Paul Rusted, Infrastructure Commissioner, which sets out the potential approach to the effective use of additional highway maintenance funding)

Consideration was given to a report which set out the potential approach to the effective use of additional maintenance funding. 

It was reported that all of the Councils existing highways maintenance funding was focused on delivering the best outcomes for the highway user through implementation of the Highway Asset Management Policy, Strategy and Plan.  This robust approach to the use of resources allowed officers to maximise the potential benefit to the road user as demonstrated by the Council's recent CQC Efficiency Rating of 98%, but it also ensured that the authority received the maximum level of Incentive Funding from the Department for Transport.

Members were advised that the Highways Service had recently received additional funding from a variety of sources:

·         £4m from the Council's own underspend/reserve which was available to spend during the duration of the Council

·         £1.7m from the Department for Transport's Pothole Fund which should be spent during the financial year 2018/19

·         A further £3.3m allocated by Council in the 2018/19 Budget which was available to spend during the duration of this Council.

·         A further £3.4m from the Department for Transport.  £2.5m of which was already expected and had been included in initial budget planning, but the Council had gained an additional £0.9m on top of this.  This should also be spent during the 2018/19 financial year.

It was confirmed in the meeting that the Department for Transport had confirmed that the Council's entire Capital maintenance allocation for 2018/19 would be £30.1m which was in line with expectations.

A number of suggested treatments were outlined in the report for use of the additional funding and included:

·         Patching

·         Surface dressing and surface treatments

·         Thin surface course replacement

·         Residential streets

·         Recycling schemes

·         Retread

·         Road markings

·         First time fix pothole gangs

It was also reported that Lincolnshire was now rated as level 3 in all 22 areas which were assessed by the Department for Transport, and so there was no doubt that the authority would be maintaining the additional funding.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It was queried whether a programme of work over the next three years would be produced, and members were advised that this would depend on what type of work was undertaken.

·         It was commented that the residential streets work would be relatively easy to measure up and procure so officers would be able to get a good price for the work.

·         It was commented that this was an extremely useful report.

·         It was clarified that 'fines' referred to the smaller size material that was added to the road surface mix and would help to hold the surface together.

·         One member commented that residents in his division were very grateful that potholes on a stretch of road had been fixed. 

·         Queries were raised regarding the use of plastics in the tarmac mix for roads, and it was noted that officers were always looking for innovative solutions.  Any different material trialled would always be monitored by the lab.

·         It was noted that Cumbria had trialled the use of plastics in the road surface, but it was felt that it was done more as a way of getting rid of plastics as much as treating the road.  There had been feedback from Holland, where this method was also used, that there had been some issues with temperature variation.

·         Members welcomed the Confirm reports which they received on a regular basis and commented that they were very useful when attending parish council meetings.

·         It was suggested whether there could be a planned programme of works to put concrete edges on roads, as those A and B roads which had concrete edging seemed to be in better condition than those which just ran into the grass.  It had also been observed that most potholes seemed to form at the edges of roads, and it was suggested that if these were treated the pothole problem may reduce over time.  Members were advised that a programme for this had been running for a number of years, and some extensive work had been carried out in the past.

·         It was commented that there were 5,500 miles of road in Lincolnshire, and everyone wanted their piece of road fixed first.

·         In terms of winter preparation, it was queried whether there was a need to be more prepared for potholes in the coming years, as potholes tended to form following the winter weather.

·         Members were advised that the Asset Management Plan was a preventative maintenance plan, and the aim was to carry out the maintenance before the potholes formed.  There was also a plan to be able to carry out more first time fixes.

·         In terms of the thin surface replacement, it was queried how long after the roads were taken over from the highways agency, was it reported that there were faults with the surfacing.

·         It was commented that when a job was passed to a contractor, it was marked as resolved on Confirm, and it was queried that this could be misleading as it did not mean that the work had been completed.  It was acknowledged that this was an issue and officers were working to find a solution.

·         It was commented that people were now getting in touch with members to say that the potholes they had reported had been filled in.

RESOLVED

1.    That the potential approach to the effective use of additional highway maintenance funding as set out in the report be supported.

2.    That the comments made in relation to the existing and future programmes of work that had been identified be noted.