Content

Salford City Council - Record of
Decision
 
I, Councillor Mike McCusker,
Lead Member for Planning,
Transport & Sustainable Development, in exercise of the powers
contained within the Council Constitution, do hereby approve:
 
The 2024/25 CRSTS Consolidated Highways
Programme
 
The
Reasons are:
To enable the delivery of the
projects detailed within the programme in the 2024/25 financial
year.
 
Options considered and rejected were:
No other options were
considered.
 
Assessment of Risk:
Failure to spend Capital
Allocations on initiatives in line with Government guidelines may
impact on future settlement levels, both for the City Council and
for AGMA as a whole.
 
The
source of funding is:
2024/25 CRSTS Consolidated Highways
 
Legal
Advice obtained:
Under Part V of the Highways Act 1980 (“the Act”),
the Council acting in its capacity as the highway authority, shall
have general and express powers in relation to any highway
maintainable at public expense by them, any work for the
improvement of the highway other than the work of lighting which is
expressly provided for under Section 97 of the Act.
 
Under s41(1) the Act the authority who are for the time being
the highway authority for a highway maintainable at the public
expense are under a duty subject to subsections (2) and (4) to
maintain the highway. Subsection (2) and (4) do not apply to the
proposals contained within this report.
 
Under s329 of the Act
‘maintenance’ includes repair.
In
that regard, there are no legal implications as the Council, as
highway authority, is acting within its powers. However, failure to
maintain the highway may have adverse implications. The proposals
in the report for the programmes, once finalised scheme details
within each of the specified categories of work have been
submitted, will strengthen the Council’s position in
defending 3rd party highway/tripping claims. Whilst it
is legally accepted that it is not possible to maintain the highway
completely free of all defects, section 58 of the Highways Act 1980
provides a possible defence to a claim if it can adequately show
that there was a sufficiently robust regime in place to inspect and
maintain the highway provided it is adequately carried out and the
Council had no prior knowledge of the defect before an alleged
incident. The proposed schemes will also improve road safety,
pedestrian/public safety, and encourage the further use of safer
cycle routes.
 
In
relation to any proposed Traffic Regulation Orders, these should
not give rise to any legal implications provided the works are
carried out in accordance with the appropriate statutory
requirements set out in the Road Traffic Regulation Act
1984.
 
The
proposed dropped crossings can be introduced without delay because
no Traffic Regulation Order is required for these. To ensure all
users have the ability to safely access
and use dropped crossing facilities that the Council has installed,
the Council has powers subject to exemptions under the Traffic
Management Act 2004 to fine and remove vehicles that are parked at
dropped crossings within any special enforcement area. However, the
Council must ensure that the public are aware of the new
restrictions before starting enforcement.
 
When
commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or
works the City Council must comply with the requirements of the
Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) 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 Consolidated Highways
Maintenance Programme 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/PCR 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.
 
Financial Advice obtained:
The proposed programme of
expenditure identified within this report will be met from the
CRSTS Highways Consolidated Highways capital allocation
24/25.
 
All expenditure should be
closely monitored to ensure that these schemes are delivered within
the allocated resources.
 
Procurement Advice
obtained:
There are various routes to
market available for the aforementioned
schemes, specifically SCC’s Technical and Highways
Works Framework.
 
Where works are deemed
unsuitable to be procured via the Technical and Highways Works
Framework, the procurement team will work closely with the
commissioning team to determine the most appropriate route to
market.
 
As part of the Council’s
Innovate program and budget challenges over the next three years,
the commissioning team should consider efficiencies and savings
opportunities as part of this procurement activity.
 
HR Advice
obtained: N/A
 
Climate Change Advice
obtained: N/A – The assessment of
climate change implications will be carried out on a
project-by-project basis.
 
The
following documents have been used to assist the decision
process:
Lead Member report.
 
Contact
Officer: Stephen
Hands                      
Email: Stephen.hands@salford.gov.uk
 
 

Signed: Councillor McCusker                               
Dated: 14th March 2024
Lead
Member for Planning, Transport & Sustainable
Development
 

 
This decision was published on
15th March 2024.
 
This decision will come into force at
4.00 p.m. on 22nd March 2024, unless it is called-in in accordance with the
decision-making process rules.