Content

Salford City Council - Record of Decision
 
I Councillor Jack Youd, Deputy City Mayor,
City Mayor and Lead Member for Finance, Support Services And
Regeneration, in exercise of the powers contained within the City
Council Constitution and in
consultation with Cabinet, do hereby approve:
The proposed programme of carriageway patching
and surface repairs for 2026/27, funded through the Pothole Action
Fund and associated allocations, including the introduction of a
Hot Applied Patch Repair System and the seasonal delivery model set
out in the accompanying report.
 
The Reasons are: The programme enables targeted repairs to address
localised carriageway deterioration, improves durability and
network resilience, and supports compliance with the
Council’s statutory duty to maintain the highway under the
Highways Act 1980. The introduction of a Hot Applied Patch Repair
System strengthens surface condition, reduces water ingress and
enhances the long?term performance of previous repairs.
 
 
Options considered and rejected were: No alternative options were considered.
The combined funding allocations and the nature of the required
works make the proposed programme the most appropriate asset-led
approach.
 
 
Final Decision:
Approval is granted for the 2026/27 Pothole Action Fund programme
with a total budget of £855,000, comprising CRSTS Pothole
Action Fund allocation, DfT transparency?return funding and Council
Revenue Reserves. The programme will proceed as a unified patching
and preventative repair programme as described in the briefing.
 

Assessment of Risk:
Low. The targeted use of the available funding will ensure that
statutory maintenance obligations are met and that the service
continues to apply an asset?management approach to prevent further
deterioration and reduce longer?term liabilities.

Source of Funding:
The programme is funded from:
CRSTS Pothole Action Fund allocation (£250,000),
DfT conditional maintenance uplift released following the
transparency return (£333,000),
and Highways off?programme Revenue Reserve allocation
(£272,000).
These sources combine to create an overall budget of
£855,000.
 

Legal Advice Obtained:    Helen Chapman and
Tony Hatton

In relation to the Highways Act 1980 the requirement to maintain
pot holes will fall under the Council’s general duty as
Highway Authority to maintain highways maintainable at public
expense.
Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 provides a
statutory defence to the Section 41 duty in an action against the
Highway Authority for having failed in its duty to maintain a
highway within its control. Section 58 states that it is a defence
(without prejudice to any other defence or the application of the
law relating to contributory negligence) to such action if the
authority had taken such care as in all the circumstances was
reasonably required to secure that the part of the highway to which
the action relates was not dangerous for traffic.
Section 58 lists the matters a Court will have
regard to in relation to the defence. This includes such matters as
the character of the highway, appropriate standard of maintenance,
expected state of repair and traffic expected to use it. It also
includes
1. whether the highway authority knew, or
could reasonably have been expected to know, that the condition of
the part of the highway to which the action relates was likely to
cause danger to users of the highway; and
2. where the highway authority could not
reasonably have been expected to repair that part of the highway
before the cause of action arose, what warning notices of its
condition had been displayed;
Therefore, provided the Council is satisfied
that it has carried out a full and thorough scope of repairs needed
across the Highway Authority’s area to repair pot holes and
what other remedial measures are in place to protect the public in
the meantime, the risk to the Council arising out of any litigation
should be minimal.
In respect of instructing contractors to carry
out the works, when commissioning contracts for the procurement of
goods, services or works the City Council must comply with the
requirements of public procurement legislation and its own
Contractual Standing Orders (CSO’s), Financial Regulations,
and duties of Best and Social Value.
 Depending on the
value of the works to be undertaken under the various schemes as
part of the CRSTS funding as set out in the body of the report and
detailed in the Appendix, the Council may appoint contractors under
relevant lots of the SCC Technical and Highways Works Framework in
line with the procedures specified. Other routes to market such as
alternative frameworks or a standalone contract procurement process
may also be considered, depending on the most appropriate in the
circumstances, and CSO’s/procurement legislation should be
followed in those circumstances.
Should the value of any such individual
project exceed £150,000, a separate report will need to be
presented to Procurement Board for approval.
 

Procurement Advice
Obtained:
The Technical and Highways Works Framework is
in place for this work until February 2026 when we hope to extend
the framework until August 2026 to enable us to go out to market
for the new framework, This will ensure that all works carried out
are compliant with SCC Standing Orders and PCR’s 2015. And
then with the introduction of the new framework which will comply
with the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023).
Procurement Advice obtained: Heather Stanton,
Procurement Category Manager

Financial Advice Obtained:
The source of funding is: i) CRSTS
Grant from DfT via GMCA; ii) Highways Funding Block Grant from DfT
via GMCA; iii) Highways off programme funding held in Reserves.
Expenditure Code: D08884
Comments: This is a request for the Lead
Member for Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development to
approve the proposed programme of carriageway patching activity for
2026/27. The programme has been designed to make use of all funding
available in 2026-27 for this type of activity. There are plans
within the programme to bring more works in-house by training and
equipping a dedicated team of operatives, enabling a reduction in
the amount of works outsourced to the private sector. It is
expected that this will generate greater value for money for the
Council. The programme will be financed by £250,000 CRSTS
grant provided to us by the DfT via GMCA, £333,000 Highways
Funding Block incentive grant also provided to us by the DfT via
GMCA and £272,000 Highways off programme funding  held in Reserves, which is part of £800,000
being allocated to the Capital programme over 3 years.
Financial Advice obtained: Ian Cowburn, Senior
Accountant

Equality Impact Assessment:
The programme will have a positive impact on all equality groups by
improving accessibility and safety for pedestrians, including the
elderly and those with mobility impairments. Works will include
tactile paving and dropped kerbs at junctions.

Climate Change Implications:
None identified.

Wards to Which Report Relates:
All.
 
 
HR Advice obtained: N/A
 
Climate Change Advice obtained: N/A
 
Contact
Officer:  Lewis Barnett                             
Telephone number: 07584421545
 
-      
This decision is subject to consideration for briefing purposes by
the Lead Member for PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. The Lead
Member is supportive of the decision.
-      
This decision is not subject to consideration by another Lead
Member.
           
 
 
Signed: Councillor Jack Youd
Deputy City Mayor
Dated: 9th March 2026
                                                     
 
 
This decision was published on Monday 9th March 2026                                            
This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on Monday
16th March 2026
unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision-Making
Process Rules.