Agenda item

The Forum considered a report by the Director of Environment and Transport with regard to the Highway Maintenance Strategy and Policy Review.  The report was introduced by Mr Kirk with a copy filed with the minutes.

 

Mr Kirk took Members through the report and advised that this followed on from the report to the last meeting entitled A-Roads to Zebras – A Comprehensive Maintenance Review.  This  detailed the reasons for the review and the current financial challenges and the alteration in the way that funding is being made available by the Department for Transport, together with the changes that will need to occur to comply with  the new Code of Practice. We need to alter our approach to Highway Maintenance to maximise the quality of the highway network with amount of funding available.  We will need to take more of a risk based approach while at the same time operating within a considerably reduced budget envelop. 

 

Mr Kirk reported that the views of the public on services and priorities were fed into the comprehensive report to Cabinet on 13th December 2016, which set out a draft Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy which have been produced and are attached to the report for information.  Mr Kirk encouraged Members to feed into the current public consultation on the draft policy and strategy that is now open and runs until 26th March and to also encourage others to respond.  The results will be used to formulate the final policy and strategy which will determine future years’ work programmes.

 

Mr Kirk went through the bullet points at para 3 (page 25) which detail the reasons that the review is necessary and highlighted the flow chart on page 27 which shows the journey to operational delivery.  

 

Mr Kirk advised that at the last Forum Members were interested in drainage and gulley emptying and highlighted the table on page 57 which gives the outline strategy for drainage.  It states that evidence will be gathered on where gullies need emptying the most and this will allow an assessment of the risk and a targeted prioritised approach will follow.

 

Cllr Page raised concerns about the damage to the road caused by lorries on route to and from Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome every day near to Cllr Hall’s house in Knaptoft, Lutterworth.  She stated that lorries take the junction too quickly, sway and have damaged signs.  Cllr Page asked as part of the strategy can officers gather this evidence for when planning applications are received we can claw back funding for example at Magna Park and other industrial parks.   Mr Kirk highlighted the table on page 46 which gives details about hierarchy and classification of highways and on page 47 the details about condition assessment. He went on to say that we do make recommendations to the Planning Authorities but it is incredibly hard to find evidence when the network is already there.  If we have evidence an insurance claim can be made but the normal wear and tear on the network is what this report is about. Cllr Hall agreed with Cllr Page and went on to raise concerns about access from A5199 crossroads which he thought was dangerous and not suitable for transporters.  He stated that if the weeds were dealt with at the crossroads at Shearsby there would be no need to strim this area.

 

Mr Kirk stated that the approach that is being taken is more risk based and will look at some areas more frequently and others less frequently to ensure efficiencies are made where appropriate.  He went on to say that in order for this to happen we need Councillors and members of the public to report any issues through the Customer Service Centre. 

 

Mr Kirk reminded Members that there is less money available in the long term and increasingly the money that is available is subject to a competitive process therefore it is important that we do things in a more efficient manner. 

 

Cllr Page reported damage to a layby by workers carrying out gas works.  She stated that she had not got a photo of how it looked previously so had no evidence of what damage they had done.  Mr Kirk stated that inspectors do carry out surveys on a regular basis and can make insurance claims in cases of accident damage but we cannot do this for wear and tear issues. 

 

Mr Kirk reminded Members of the massive reduction in the budget and the 78% reduction in real terms from the budget in 2010/11 to the indicative budget for 2019/20 and that we are seeing the impacts of that reduction.  Mr Kirk also reminded Members of the satisfaction survey which was reported to the last Highway Forum which results showed that satisfaction was still very high with Highways and stated that when he drives into other Counties he does notice a significant difference. 

 

Cllr Hill stated that we need to be mindful of the budget cuts and said that she remembered this approach being followed previously with gulley emptying but with no data collection which led to problems and to the approach being reverted back.    Cllr Hill raised concerns about the water coming from the farmer’s fields and with ditches not being cleared by landowners this is where some of the flooding is created.  Mr Kirk said that there were two reports to the last Highway Forum, one about Highway Drainage and the other was about our responsibilities as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), this detailed how we liaise with Severn Trent Water and also landowners.

 

Mr Kirk said that at the last meeting it was agreed to invite Severn Trent Water to the Highway Forum and hopefully a representative will be able to attend the next meeting to talk about their planned work in the Harborough area.  Mr Kirk urged Members to inform officers through Customer Services of flooding issues as a dedicated team has been set up to specifically look at these issues and there has been a lot of proactive work being carried out.  He went on to say that investment had been made in purchasing 5 new gulley emptiers due to the work being done maintaining the asset in the correct way, as currently vehicles are being hired and the 2 that the Council own are now 12 years old. 

Cllr Feltham raised concern about dirty signs covered with dirt and moss, specifically on the Billesdon Bypass signs.  He stated that he felt that cleaning signs on main roads should be dealt with by the qualified professionals and not the volunteers or Parish Councils, although they could do this task on other minor roads if they have the capacity to take this on. 

 

Mr Kirk thanked Members for their comments and stated that the County Council will be providing information in the form of FAQs and advice to carry out the work sensibly as part of the approach to maintain the assets.  Mr Kirk stated that a litter picking campaign is carried out by the local residents in his area which is very successful.

 

The Chairman advised that he also got involved with his local litter picking campaign and encouraged others to get involved stating that the co-operation they receive from the District Council was phenomenal.

 

Cllr Hall raised some issues that he had concerns with, as follows:

 

i)          Grass verges on the A4304 cut up and damaged with a 6-9” gap/trough at the edge of the carriageway.

ii)         Grips not cleaned out or not cleaned out properly which means when tractors pass by these fill up again as mud is moved back into the grips

iii)        Road from Shearsby to Arnesby – water always present although a number of attempts had been made to repair the leak, could cause danger in icy weather.

 

The Chairman stated that springs can pop through tarmac roads and this was the case on the Shearsby to Arnesby Road, it may not be coming from fields. 

 

Mr Clarke stated that works have been started today on the A426 clearing grips out and he is aware of the problems. He urged Members to report any issues they come across through the Customer Service Centre and we can then put them together in a programme of works. 

 

The Chairman advised of problems in Cotesbach with pots being emptied which immediately fill up again as the water has nowhere to go and he felt that it is no good emptying the pots it’s the bit in between that needs clearing.

 

Mr Kirk stated that the Highway Delivery team are starting to sort the issues out but we need Members and the public to report any issues.

 

Cllr Rickman stated that his village carry out a litter picking exercise too. He asked what the timescales are for responding to issues such as damaged signs and street furniture.  Mr Kirk stated that it depending on the scale of the issue.  If it was a safety issue then this will be prioritised and dealt with very quickly.  If it is something that is not dangerous, works will be put together into a programme that can be scheduled in for a later date, it could be something like 60 days for non-dangerous work and this could be programmed in a more efficient manner.  Mr Kirk said that it would be better if we could produce some specific timescales that can then be given out by the Customer Services team which would then help to manage the caller’s expectations. 

 

Cllr Rickman reported a damaged VAS sign on Medbourne Road into Hallaton which had been reported to the CSC several times.  Mr Kirk agreed to check this out and report back to Cllr Rickman. 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

i)          That the report of the Director of Environment and Transport be noted; and

ii)         That officers investigate the damaged VAS sign on Medbourne Road into Hallaton and report back to Cllr Rickman.

iii)        That details of the current response times to reported incidents that Highways follow are provided in the minutes