Purpose

As set out in Appendix C of the 2025/26
Maintenance of Highways Assets approved by Cabinet on 7 March, a
budget allocation of £500,000 was approved for Coring and
Surveying (PPMS16461) to support pavement design development for
the 2026/27 Highways Maintenance Programme.
We are now forecasting an underspend against this allocation. This
is due to several factors, most notably a reduction in activity
associated with the Local Deterioration Fund (LDF), which has
correspondingly reduced the level of coring and survey work
required during the current financial year.
Conversely, there has been an increased demand for Geotechnical
Investigation and Design (PPMS16464). This pressure is driven by an
extensive programme of Special Schemes, many of which involve full
pavement reconstruction and require more complex ground
investigation work. Several of these schemes have also attracted
significant public and political attention, increasing the need for
robust geotechnical assessment and design.
The originally approved budget provision for PPMS16464 was
£200,000. To support delivery of the 2025/26 programme, this
now needs to be increased by £50,000 to £250,000.
It is recommended therefore that the transfer of £50,000 from
the coring budget to the Geotechnical Investigation budget is
approved.

Content

John Davies, Head of Highways
Network Management, on behalf of Matt Townsend, Director of Highways and Transport, took a
decision to approve the recommendation in the report.