Issue - items at meetings - New approach for Highway Maintenance

1. In early 2010 the Rethinking Surrey Highways programme was instigated (as part of the Council’s PVR programme), with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and reducing operating costs by:

· Designing and implementing new contractual arrangements to replace the previous SHiP contracts

· Redesigning the structure of the organisation, to improve service delivery and reduce establishment costs

· Improving collaborative working with other organisations, including Borough and District Councils and SE7 Councils

2. Given the scale of transformation, the programme was structured in two phases with the first phase being those changes necessary to implement the new contracts from April 2011. This first phase has been delivered successfully, with operating costs reduced by a minimum of £8m per annum through efficiencies from the new highway contracts of £7m pa, and a reduction of establishment costs in excess of £1m pa.

3. The capital savings have been reinvested in the highway service, enabling:

· An increase in the number of major road schemes

· An increased allocation of funding to Local Committees

· An overall increase in net customer satisfaction

4. Further changes identified during the Rethinking Surrey Highways programme, and planned to be implemented as Phase 2, were deferred to enable the new contracts to be mobilised. These changes included:

· The development of longer term Capital programmes

· Improved coordination of works on the highway

· A shift from a reactive to a planned approach for defect repair

5. At their meeting on 5 February 2013, Cabinet approved the introduction of two initiatives that will deliver the first two improvements listed above:

· Increased funding for planned road maintenance to enable the adoption of Operation Horizon to deliver fixed five year major maintenance programme to Surrey’s roads

· The introduction of a Permit Scheme, which will introduce better control and coordination of all work on the highway

6. The report sets out proposals to deliver the final improvement – the shift from a reactive to a planned approach for safety defect repair.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

1. That the adoption of Surrey Priority Network(SPN) (2013) as Surrey’s road classification for maintenance be approved and the authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment to approve future local adjustments to the SPN, as set out in Annex 1 of the submitted report.

2. That the revised Highway Safety Inspection Policy, as set out in Annex 1 of the submitted report, be approved, subject to the development of robust processes and systems to ensure that risks are assessed and authority to agree those processes and systems be delegated to the Strategic Director of Environment and Infrastructure and the Strategic Director of Change and Efficiency, in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment.

3. That the Town Centre Management agreement with Woking Borough Council be approved, and the authority be delegated to the Assistant Director Highways to finalise the agreement with Woking Borough Council according to the terms set out in Annex 1 of the submitted report.

Reasons for Decisions

These proposed changes will provide the following benefits:

· Increase the frequency of highway inspections, ensuring defects are identified sooner.

· Improve the planning of defect repairs, leading to an improved standard of repair and less repeat visits.

· Improve the overall condition of the network by carrying out larger scale repairs.

· As a consequence, improve the management of risk across the highway network.

· Enable Woking Borough Council to invest in their town centre by complementing County Council services and providing a higher level of service than the County Council would be able to provide.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

The Chairman of the Environment and Transport Select Committee was invited to speak on this item. He said that this Cabinet report had been a culmination of a lot of effort and that his select committee had focussed on Highways issues during the last two years and had been a ‘critical friend’ to both the service and the contractors. He also said that May Gurney had been openly responsive to providing a better service to residents. He also made reference to Surrey’s winter policy, the permit scheme and Project Horizon.

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment referred to his response (attached as Appendix 3 to these minutes) to the Environment and Transport Select Committee’s comments concerning the new approach to Highway Maintenance. He thanked the Chairman of this select committee for his positive comments and referred to the efforts made by the contractors, May Gurney and confirmed that, over the last twelve months, they had met their performance indicators almost every month.

Finally, he drew Members attention to the recommendations and to Project Horizon and commended the report to Cabinet colleagues.

The Leader of the Council said that he was pleased with the revised Highways Safety Inspection Policy because highways issues were the ‘number one’ concern of Surrey residents and he thanked Highways officers for their efforts.

RESOLVED:

1. That the adoption of SPN (2013) as Surrey’s road classification for maintenance be approved and the authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment to approve future local adjustments to the SPN, as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report.

2. That the revised Highway Safety Inspection Policy as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved, subject to the development of robust processes and systems to ensure that risks are assessed and authority to agree those processes and systems be delegated to the Strategic Director of Environment and Infrastructure and the Strategic Director of Change and Efficiency, in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment.

3. That the Town Centre Management agreement with Woking Borough Council be approved, and the authority be delegated to the Assistant Director Highways to finalise the agreement with Woking Borough Council according to the terms set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report.