Decision

The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety agreed that

the schemes listed in Appendix ‘A’ of the report included in a programme of planned highway maintenance for 2026/27, should be undertaken by the Council’s existing highway term maintenance contractor.

The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety agreed that the decision to include additional schemes in the programme be delegated to the Director of Environment & Public Protection, based on the results of further condition assessments.

The Portfolio Holder agreed that the additional grant funding received from the Department for Transport be utilised to improve the condition of the borough’s highway assets.

Reasons for the decision

A well-maintained highway facilitates safe and reliable travel for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, and contributes to the vitality of the borough and the local economy.

Maintaining the highway asset through timely intervention reduces the need for more expensive maintenance treatments at a later date, along with the demand for reactive maintenance, such as repairing potholes and broken paving. This improves value for money and customer satisfaction, reduces unplanned network disruption, and contributes to reducing third party claims for damages. There is a strong case for continued investment in planned maintenance of the highway asset, which would reduce the demand for more costly reactive repairs.

This report recommends a programme of planned carriageway and footway maintenance projects to be funded from existing LBB capital budgets and DfT grant funding