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Post Scrutiny - Executive Response
In Respect of: Follow Up Review of the Council's Highway Maintenance Policies
Date: February 2008
Cabinet Deputy: Councillor A. Whitehead
| Recommendations | Accepted / Rejected | Executive Response | Officer Responsible | Action By (Date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. That the Scrutiny Panel receives a presentation on the Transport Asset Management Plan before it is approved. | Accepted | A TAMP presentation was given to Scrutiny in October 2007 | P. Jennings | Completed |
| 2 That consideration be given to increasing the budget allocation to the borough’s highways and that any “slippage” be allocated to District Assemblies to assist in highways maintenance schemes, in accordance with the most need as detailed in the Transport Asset Management Plan document, to be approved by the Cabinet Deputy for Technical Services in November 2007. | Accepted (subject to Council Priorities) | The TAMP will identify required spend levels to improve the maintenance of the Borough’s Highways. This will now be presented to Cabinet in May 2008. Any slippage monies from both Revenue and Capital will be subject to the recommendations of the Director of Operations and Performance and the Borough Treasurer | P. Jennings | Ongoing |
| 3. That additional, more detailed highways maintenance budget information be made available to elected members. | Accepted | This can be provided with assistance from the Engineering Operations Manager and the Borough Treasurers Finance Support team | P. Jennings D. Baron |
June 2008 |
| 4. That following the introduction of the decriminalisation of parking scheme, the Council and the Police be encouraged to issue fixed penalty notices when appropriate, to drivers of vehicles who cause obstruction or damage pavements by parking their vehicles. In particular, action should be taken in respect of commercial vehicles that are parked on pavements or in restricted areas. | Accepted (further to discussions with General Manager District Assemblies) | Parking obstruction can only be dealt by the Police. Damage to pavements caused by vehicles is an offence under the Highways Act S131, S131(a). These enforcement issues are dealt with through the District Assembly Highway officers in liaison with the Police | General Manager District Assemblies | Ongoing |
| 5. That Engineering Services monitors the issuing of fixed penalty notices and reports on a quarterly basis to District Assemblies. | Rejected (Reports already go to the Enforcement Panel) | Monitoring is undertaken and is currently reported to the Enforcement Panel | P. Jennings | Ongoing (quarterly reporting) |
| 6. That once any backlog of the implementation of approved Traffic Regulation Orders has been cleared, measures be taken where possible to revoke redundant Orders throughout the borough, subject to available/identified funding. | Accepted | This is in line with the programme approved through the District Assembly process | B. James | Ongoing |
| 7. That all savings made from the implementation of insurance risk removal strategies be reinvested into the borough’s highways maintenance. | Accepted (subject to Council priorities) | This is welcomed as significant improvements have already been made in this area. It will however, require approval through the Borough Treasurer in line with Council priorities. | M. Thompson with P. Williams |
2008/9 |
| 8. That consideration be given to the provision of a store of replacement resurfacing materials which can be used by the Utility organisations when identical replacements cannot be sourced. | Accepted | Efforts to improve the type / extent of materials held for future use by utility companies will continue – however space to store such is limited. Nonetheless efforts will be undertaken to ensure sufficient capacity is provided especially during this current period of peak activity from Utility organisations. | P. Morton | Ongoing |
| 9. That the quality of the reinstatement work carried out by the Utility Companies’ be ensured by the resurfacing of greater lengths of highway where there is a cluster of excavations. | Accepted | This action is currently pursued especially where surfacing has recently been renewed, however, there is currently no legislative powers to enforce this. A note has been prepared for the Leader and James Purnell MP to lobby Government over this issue. | P. Morton | April 2008 |
| 10. That a programme of planned maintenance for major strategic works should be available to the Council and Utility Organisations for a three to five year period. | Accepted | The Code of Practice for Highways Maintenance recommends work programmes are set for a minimum 3 years. Tameside together with Utility organisations are committed to developing co-ordinated work programming over this time scale. | P. Morton | Ongoing |
| 11. That consideration be given to the introduction of measures to enable the smooth coordination of services provided by all Utility Organisations and the Council, prior to the commencement of a development and that appropriate conditions be included in the planning consent to coordinate the provision of utility services connections and ensure minimum disruption to the highways. | Accepted | The introduction of the Traffic Management Act (April 2008) will assist the council in controlling disruption caused by Utility Openings. Actions will be taken where possible by Engineering Service (Traffic Development) to improve initiatives leading to joint co-ordination of activities, however project managers of the developments will ultimately arrange works orders with the Utility companies direct | B. James | Ongoing |
| 12. That Ward Members be consulted regarding the adoption of highways prior to the “snagging” meeting with the developers to enable them to raise any additional issues that need to be addressed. | Accepted | New process can be developed to help alert local ward members prior to approval of final adoption plans. It should however be noted that, at this stage, this can only relate to minor snagging and not material changes in design or specification as originally approved. | B. James | April 2008 |
| 13. That a systematic approach be taken to the inspection of reinstatement works to include quality control measures thus ensuring that the work is completed to a satisfactory standard. | Accepted | The council employs 2 dedicated officers to monitor activities on the highway caused by Utility organisations. A recognised (legislated) process of random inspections is undertaken and reinstatements are checked for quality. Any defects are reported to the Enforcement Panel quarterly. | P. Morton | Ongoing (quarterly reporting) |
| 14. That the traditional environmental role of the Quality Audit Inspectors, ensuring the quality control of highway reinstatements, be confirmed. | Accepted | Any assistance to report poor quality works is welcomed. Any such reports can then be included in the Service action plans for further inspection and rectification. | P. Morton | Ongoing |
| 15. That further consideration be given to the conditions contained within the Local Transport Plan in order to exploit any avenues of funding for footway improvements. | Accepted | Efforts continue to be made to help maximise funding opportunities through external / Capital funding streams. | B. James P. Jennings |
Ongoing |
| 16. That action for the enforcement of the management of trees along the highway in private ownership be endorsed. | Accepted (subject to further discussions with General manager District Assemblies) | The problem of overhanging vegetation can be dealt with through existing enforcement processes, however, it is noted that the council also has ownership of a number of Highway trees which require regular management and maintenance . | General Manager District Assemblies | October 2008 |
| 17. That the Highway Maintenance Apprenticeships be retained and additional training initiatives introduced whenever possible. | Accepted | This programme is encouraged and promoted by the Service, including supervisory training programmes (on a 6 month secondment) designed to help personal development. | N. Brooks | Ongoing |
Page last updated: 19 June 2008
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