Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport

The Chairman welcomed Richard Harris and David Ogden from Amey, who had been invited to attend the meeting to assist members in their consideration of this item.

Members were informed that Staffordshire County Council was responsible for a highway asset valued at over £7.5 billion providing benefit to all as stakeholders. The highway network was the largest and most visible asset for which the County Council was responsible. The way it was managed and maintained had a direct impact on the County Councils’ ability to deliver the vision of ‘a connected Staffordshire, where everyone has opportunity to prosper, be healthy and happy’.  In recent years the investment in highway infrastructure and its performance had been increasingly under the spotlight. The current financial challenges and increased public demands and expectations have meant the management of our highway assets has never been more important to ensure we achieve our outcomes.

The Committee were informed that the Highway Asset Management Strategy and Highway Asset Management Policy will ensure that the Council as Highway Authority continues to meet its statutory duties under the Highways Act 1980.  They took into account the ongoing financial pressures on the Authority, supporting delivery of the Council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy and also the opportunities for the Council to take advantage of additional funding available from the Department for Transport.  Members were invited to consider and comment on the Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Policy and Strategy; and the comments of the Select Committee would be reported to the Cabinet at the August 2019 meeting for them to take into account in their consideration of this matter.

Members acknowledged that there was a challenge between the interests of road users and communities and the ability of the County Council to allocate its funding to deliver a decent asset to provide customer satisfaction.  Whilst there had been an improvement in response to repairs, there was still some level of concern over this.   A member pointed out that all councillors had been allocated £20,000 to address defects and road infrastructure issues, but that it was an issue of capacity.  Problems which had been reported last year were only now being addressed and it was queried how capacity would be managed.  The Cabinet Member responded that the report provided a detailed background to the situation which the County Council was in.  £75m was required now to bring the asset up to standard and £42m would be required every year to maintain it in a steady state.  There was not sufficient funding, and the approach taken to repairs was first and foremost to maintain the safety of roads.   The purpose of the £20,000 was to enable members to address problems that were really important in their local area.  It was acknowledged that there had been improvement and progress and this deserved praise.  Whilst recognising that there always had been and always would be a gap between funding needed and funding available a member questioned how this and the issue of capacity would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59