Issue - meetings

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which provided an update on risks in the Corporate Risk Register, emerging risks and the internal audit  of the Council’s risk management process.  A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

As part of this item, the Committee also received a presentation from the Director of Environment and Transport on the emerging risk of the significant increase in demand for reactive highway maintenance repair work to address the highest ever levels of road defects the department had seen over a winter period.  A copy of the presentation is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion, the following points were made:

Presentation

i)               The Director of Environment and Transport explained that the level of repair work had significantly exceeded previous years, although this was an issue being experienced across the country.  It was anticipated that the pressure on the service was likely to continue and as a result, the department had changed the way it worked to deal with this peak in workload.  The normal operation was for first time permanent repairs to be made to the vast majority of defects.  The majority of repairs carried out over the winter period however had been temporary to ensure the road network remained safe, with more permanent repairs being undertaken over the summer. 

ii)              Some local authorities were trialling new technology on refuse lorries which would identify defects on roads.  The Highways Service had trialled this type of technology, but to date had found some of the visual inspection systems were less than 50% accurate.  New technology would continue to be trialled.

iii)            It was noted that the UK was now experiencing more extreme weather which was affecting the condition of the roads.  Other countries with wetter and colder climates used specific materials to protect the road surface.  Whilst it was not possible to retrofit the whole road network in the UK, local authorities were working with various research projects to understand alternative materials that would be more resilient to the changing climate conditions.  However, there was a reluctance to invest in something new in the event that it did not perform, for instance, it failed after only a few years and required further investment to remedy.  It was noted that Leicestershire had used recycled rubber to repair some roads five years ago, and its effectiveness was being monitored.

iv)            There was concern that many roads in newly built housing estates would not be adopted and therefore would not be up to the required standard.  The Director gave assurance that there was a highway design guide and if developers wanted a road to be adopted, they had to meet a required standard, which included the local highway authority monitoring the condition of a road for at least twelve months. 

v)             It was stated that new housing estates were often built as low classification roads which were not designed to withstand heavy traffic, and it was queried whether it was possible to change how planning applications were assessed.  The Director of Environment and Transport reported that any planning application had to accord with the national planning policy framework, which set the bar high for refusing an application.  The authority had to consider whether the application was safe and had to be able to defend a recommendation for refusal.

vi)            A member also commented that utility companies often left roads in a poor condition and requiring some repair work.  The Director stated that it was a process that required the utility companies to return to make the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72