Agenda item

This report looks at the Council’s Road Resurfacing Strategy.

Councillor Southwood (Cabinet Member for Environment) presented a report from the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment on Brent Road Resurfacing. Members’ heard that the Brent highways infrastructure was currently valued at £3.89bn  and was the asset most visible and frequently used by the public. Despite an increasing maintenance requirement and reductions to local government funding, Brent continued to provide investment and deliver programmes to improve the overall condition of the borough’s footways and roads. The Highway Asset Management Plan (HAMP) had been adopted by the council in 2014 and enshrined a proactive approach to asset repair, ensuring maintenance works took place before assets failed to prevent high street repair costs in the long term. In line with this approach, an asset management tool was being procured which would enable officers to identify the most appropriate time for planned intervention ensuring optimal use of funding and improved communication with residents.

Councillor Southwood highlighted that additional funding of £200k had been provided in the 2015/16 budget to target areas worst affected by potholes and a further £2m in the current 2016/17 budget had been made available to  accelerate road repairs. Members had been extensively involved in identifying priorities for action and a decision had been taken by Cabinet to use  asphalt surfacing on some roads as a more durable and therefore cost effective material.

Members raised a concern about damage caused to public roads and pavements as a result of building works and in the case of commercial buildings, deliveries and other routine activities. It was queried whether the use of deposits or licences could address the cost implications of repairing this damage. Similar concerns were raised regarding damage caused to highways by Transport for London buses and how this was accounted for in the service’s budget. Noting that investment was concentrated on A class roads, it was queried what action would be taken to maintain the other categories of highway. The committee questioned the quality and timeliness of repairs being carried out by the contractors and sought details of the department’s oversight arrangements. Members discussed the importance of good communication with and feedback to  Brent’s residents and it was queried whether the publicising of the additional £2m funding had raised expectations beyond what could reasonably be delivered. Members further suggested that the automatic and formulaic responses provided by the current system should be tested on real people to enable improvements to be made. Clarity was sought regarding the relative merits of the different materials used for repair.

Councillor Southwood confirmed that the council had previously paid for repairs to pavements damaged by building works but that the number of staff pursuing enforcement action was now in the process of being increased. Members’ suggestions regarding the use of deposits or licensing would be explored as part of the planned Service Review. Tony Kennedy (Head of Highways and Infrastructure) advised that Transport for London provided the council with a principle road budget to repair A class roads and liaised with the council to identify areas requiring attention. Where damages had clearly been caused by buses, the council would seek funds from TfL for the required works. The council was also currently able to make use of TfL grants for maintenance ranging between £100k and £200k, though such grants might not be sustained in future TfL budgets. It was explained that when identifying priorities for road repair, a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rating was applied based on the condition of the road. Those roads with higher levels of use and therefore with a greater risk of accident were awarded a greater priority. The Asset Management Plan,  which was published on the council’s website detailed how the council aimed to achieve the greatest benefit for the funding available. Broadly, whilst targeting those roads with a Red status, approximately thirty per cent of repairs were preventative and sought to bring Amber status roads back to a green rating.

Tony Kennedy explained that the planned programme of repairs was agreed with Cabinet at the start of the year. Site visits were undertaken with the contractor prior to repair, works were monitored during implementation and a final check would be carried out before issuing a completed certificate and permitting payment. For reactive repairs, a sum of money was agreed with the contractor based on a risk assessment. When a site for repair was identified, the contractor was required to take a photograph and categorise the fault. If the fault was categorised correctly a defect notice would be issued. The contractor would then be required to undertake repair works within the relevant timescales and take another photograph of the completed repair. Payment for the work would not be issued without provision of the photographic evidence. Monthly meetings were held with the contractors to identify any mis-categorisations and the standard of repair was evaluated via the photographs provided. A sample of the reactive repairs carried out was also audited by council officers. Faults categorised as medium would be visited to determine whether a repair was necessary. Councillor Southwood advised that there was sufficient funding to repair approximately seventy-eight per cent of faults categorised as medium. Performance data was reviewed monthly and it was agreed that this data set covering a period of six months would be provided to the committee.

Addressing members queries regarding communication with residents, Tony Kennedy advised that a draft Frequently Asked Questions document for highways maintenance was being developed with the Communications team. The automated responses produced when a defect was reported had also recently been updated to ensure more timely updates were provided. It was agreed that these would be tested with residents.

Tony Kennedy advised that asphalt was more durable than paving slabs and allowed for easier maintenance as it was easy to reseal. Noting members’ concerns about the works carried out on Wembley High Road, Tony Kennedy explained that these had been completed by a different contractor prior to the existing arrangements. Insufficient time had been allowed for works to settle and this had led to various defects.

RESOLVED:

    (i)        That the Cabinet consider the possibility of requiring a deposit be provided where building works were being undertaken to address any repairs to the public highway caused as a result of those works.

  (ii)        That Cabinet consider the possibility of issuing a license or the use of a similar mechanism to address damages to the public highway caused by the routine activities of those occupying commercial buildings, such as deliveries.