To receive the Highways Improvement Update report. [Report attached]

Contact:  Mark Barrow, tel 01743 258676

The Director of Place, introduced the Highways Improvement Plan Update report.  Members noted that the report had previously been considered by the Place Overview Committee on 7^th November 2019 and the Audit Committee had identified three improvement measures at its meeting on 25^th February 2020.

·         Contract with Kier;

·         Council provided services – improvements to processes and governance; and

·         Improved use of resources.

The Director of Place continued that it had been recognised that a full and inclusive programme of highways improvement was required.  Members noted a number of staff appointments to facilitate this, including the appointments of a Highways consultant, an Assistant Director, and a new Head of Highways.

Members noted that the Appendix A to the report set out fifty key focus points. The Director or Place confirmed that these were fully supported by Kier.  He observed that the majority of focus points were categorised as either completed or on target for completion, this was attributed to the hard work of the team, especially in light of the additional pressure caused by the severe flooding at the start of the year. 

The Director of Place informed Members that the renewed focus of the Highways Team had reduced the cost of works and had improved value for money through better organisation. Although, there were still on-going improvements and the Team were focusing on the best use of Government resources, which included £11m from the Community Infrastructure Levy, intended for the road infrastructure.

Members raised issues with the recently introduced MyShropshire portal and the number of reported issues which were rejected by the system and lack of communication of problems in Ward areas.  The Head of Highways responded that the new system was still in the process of development and these issues would be resolved as the system expanded.

Members welcomed the improvements set out in the report and their speed of delivery, but asked officers to consider the state of rural roads and suggested that the plan should have been implemented sooner.  The Director of Place responded that the contract with Kier had begun in April 2018, but highways frustrations had existed before this date and hopes that these would be resolved by the new contractor had been held. He continued that the mechanisms for contractor management had not been in place initially and the severe weather conditions had compacted these problems. He continued that the programme was now in place to control key areas of the contract.  The model allocated resources with three quarters of spending on A and B classified roads, but a better understanding of the issues of C classified road had been gained and the impact on them of heavy agricultural vehicles.  A process of asset management planning had been initiated for this road classification.  The Head of Highways added that this was a particular issue in the South of the County and work was being undertaken to improve the use of local contractors in addition to Kier and WSP in this area with the development of a local five-year plan, with procurement , audit and legal services all involved.

In response to Members queries regarding contract monitoring and communication issues, the Head of Highways confirmed that a new system was in place to improve this.  Photographs were taken before and after each job and updates on work undertaken were now expected to be filed on a daily basis, these were verified by the audit process as working, in principle, with an audit currently being undertaken to assess the consistency of this approach. He continued that this approach worked well for small scale projects. Other local authorities had been approached for an alternative perspective on effective management of larger scale projects and once developed approaches would be trialled by Kier.

The Head of Highways confirmed that the changes to the structure and working practices had restored good will and moral with the staff.  He continued that staff had been involved and consulted on as part of the process and had received support from both Workforce Development and Finance. Members requested that the organisational structure be distributed and that access to technicians was improved for Members. 

In response to a Member’s question the Operations Manager, Highways and Transport outlined the highways surface dressing programme and the importance of early intervention leading to reduced costs through delivering cost effective road repairs instead of road renewal.  He agreed that that it was important to have conversations with housing developers about the impact of developments on the condition of surrounding roads and this was included in the Highways Plan. 

Responding to a Member’s query, the Head of Highways advised that the Highways Improvement Board was an Officer Group consisting of the Head of Highways, the Director of Place, the Highways Consultant and the Assistant Director of Place and it met regularly to review progress of highways issues.  The Director of Finance Governance and Assurance added that there was a close working relationship between the group and the Finance department.  The Director of Place explained that the Highways Improvement Board was responsible for programme level capital and revenue accounts and contract negotiations. 

Members requested further information on the LED Lighting Plan and its cost implications.  The Head of Highways explained that work had been undertaken to ensure that the lighting inspection regime was more efficient and cost effective.  Advances in understanding since the agreement to move to a LED lighting scheme had delayed the implementation of the programme and the requirements of the contract had been revised to ensure it was commercial with the purchase of the lanterns going through the tender process. 

Members noted that forward plans for WSP and Kier would be available in September 2020.

RESOLVED:

i)     That the progress of the Highways Service in delivering actions within the Highways Improvement Plan be noted.

ii)    That the work of the Highways Improvement Board is considered by the appropriate Scrutiny Committee in the Winter of 2020/21