Agenda item

(To receive a report from Richard Fenwick, County Highways Manager and Shaun Butcher, County Programme Manager, which invites the Committee to consider and comment on reactive, cyclic and planned aspects of highways drainage maintenance including low-level flooding response)

The Chairman invited Richard Fenwick, County Highways Manager, to present this item to the Committee.

In guiding the Committee through the report, reference was made to:

·       Drainage Cleansing – It was reported that of the 181,000 drainage assets in the routine programme, 142,000 had been actioned to date with the remaining 39,000 being completed by the end of April 2021.  It was noted that 6,025 defects had been recorded, which represented 4% of those visited.  The Committee noted that the council's 'Fix My Street' app was being refined to move away from previous status updates where references to cyclic grass cutting and annual gullying cleansing were used.  Details of steps to be following were included on page 50 of the report pack;

·       De-Watering Bay – It was highlighted that the purpose built Sleaford Dewatering facility was now fully functioning and offered alternative solutions for dealing with waste water at a local transfer centre;

·       Drainage Improvements – Figure1 on page 51 provided the Committee with details of drainage funding 2020/21 and 2021/22.  It was highlighted that significant progress had been made in delivering works against the variety of funds;

·       Community Maintenance Gangs – It was noted that the additional three Community Maintenance drainage gangs had been responding to a variety of local issues, not covered by either the reactive or planned budgets.  It was noted that funding had been made available for this to continue in 2021/22;

·       Jetting works – It was highlighted that 1% of the assets had been recorded as having a blocked connection, which provided a target of clearing eight blockages a day, which was not always achievable.  It was noted that due to demand on this resource, there had been a backlog of issues to solve; and

·       Flooding Response Data and Section 19 Investigations – It was reported that the benefits of the Confirm Connect system had meant that Emergency Response crews attending flooding reports were able to capture photos on site and document the extent and severity of flooding, this information could then be used to inform a follow up response, as well as Section 19 investigations. 

During discussion, the Committee raised the following comments:

·       Praise was extended by the Committee to the improvements made;

·       Concerns were extended to problems caused by tree roots.  The Committee was advised that there had been some issues with tree roots, and that gangs had been provided with root cutting equipment to solve these issues; and that more was now being done to plant trees with roots less likely to grow;

·       One member extended personal thanks to the team for their help and assistance in solving a flooding matter.  It was also highlighted that landowners needed to take responsibility for riparian ditches.  The Committee noted that information was being gathered to map ditches and dykes and that eventually all information would be compiled; and

·       Ensuring adequate cover was provided over bank holidays in the event of a flooding incident.  This was acknowledged by officers.

The Chairman on behalf of the Committee extended thanks to the Highways Team for all their hard work.

RESOLVED

That the Highways – Gully Cleansing, Repair and Surface Water Flooding report presented be noted; and that the comments raised by the Committee are taken in to consideration.

The Committee took a break from 11.27am.

At 11.40am, a roll call was taken to confirm member's attendance at the meeting.