Contact: Steve Pellatt, tel 01256 764444 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report outlines:

(i) progress with the 2005/06 Highways Maintenance Programme;

(ii) details of the 2006/07 Highway Maintenance Budget;

(iii) details of the 2006/07 Highways Maintenance Programme; and

(iv) progress on Minor Capital Works (Under £10,000 Schemes) and proposals for the 2006/07 programme.

2. Background

2.1 Members will be aware from previous Panel meetings that the highway maintenance programme is funded from both revenue and capital allocations.

2.2 The revenue maintenance programme funds minor works such as pothole repairs, routine drainage work including gully cleansing, signs and road markings, environmental maintenance of grass verges, trees and shrubs, weed control and highway emergencies. Minor bridge works and winter maintenance are also funded from revenue. Budget allocations are set at a level that is intended to ensure the safety of the publicly maintained highway network.

2.3 The capital maintenance programme funds planned maintenance including special maintenance, resurfacing and surface dressing and also provides for essential repairs to the structure of the highway.

2.4 Members of the public can contact the highways offices on 0845 8504422. The Hampshire Highways website http://www.hants.gov.uk/highways/ contains a wide range of information relating to highway works, including highway policies, fact sheets on various highway activities and also online forms for reporting defects and requesting services, such as dropped crossings for driveways.

3. Progress with the 2005/06 Highways Maintenance Programme

Revenue Maintenance Programme

3.1 The total allocation for Hart for 2005/06 was £389,500. Progress throughout the year has generally been in line with the spend profile. As of 28 February 2006, 95% of the budget has been committed. It is therefore expected that the full allocation will be used by the end of the year. A budget monitoring statement is attached as Appendix 1.

Capital Maintenance Programme

3.2 The total allocation for Hart for 2005/06 was £1,829,000, which included an allocation of £326,000 of additional funding approved by the then Executive Member for the Environment targeted at areas of greatest need, ie road and footway surfaces. This allocation also includes a further £50,000 capital release received in late 2005 which has been directed toward footway resurfacing schemes. The base programme is now nearing completion and it is expected that it will be delivered as planned within time and budget constraints, albeit some schemes may continue slightly into the 2006/07 year. Some efficiencies have been obtained in the design of maintenance treatments on 2005/06 schemes and this has meant that some additional schemes have been constructed during 2005/06 whilst some others will be completed during 2006/07 programme. A budget monitoring statement is included within Appendix 1.

3.3 A status report detailing progress of all special maintenance, resurfacing and surface dressing is attached as Appendix 2.

4. 2006/07 Highway Maintenance Budget

4.1 The Highway Maintenance budget for 2006/07, approved by the Executive Member for Environment: South Hampshire and Resource Management, is £48,506,000. This sum comprises 24,132,000 revenue funding and £24,374,000 funding from the capital programme provision.

4.2 The base allocation has increased slightly from both central government grant through the Local Transport Plan as well as locally resourced funding. This additional funding is required to offset the £1 million additional energy costs for street lighting and £300,000 for increased tree maintenance.

4.3 Over the last three years the Executive Member for Environment has also approved the allocation of additional capital funding for highways maintenance works (approximately £3.5 million each year). The emphasis of this spending has been in the current areas of greatest need, that is road and footway surfaces. For 2006/07 the Leader has again approved additional funding to the value of £2.989 million. Of this additional money £85,000 has been allocated to Hart, which will enable a further two footway schemes to be completed during 2006/7.

5. 2006/07 Highway Maintenance Programme

Revenue Maintenance Programme

5.1 As described previously, the revenue maintenance programme funds three main areas of highway maintenance:

(i) reactive minor repair works to the road and footway network;

(ii) minor traffic management improvements such as the renewal of signs and road markings; and

(iii) environmental aspects of highway maintenance including grass cutting, weed treatment and tree and shrub maintenance.

5.2 The total allocation for Hart in 2006/07 is £376,000. A detailed breakdown of the budget allocations for 2006/07 is set out in Appendix 3.

5.3 Additional revenue budgets are held centrally for the performance elements of the County Council's term maintenance contract. The performance based work contained in the contract includes:

(i) gully emptying;

(ii) potholes, road markings and studs on Principal (A) roads;

(iii) visibility splay grass cutting;

(iv) winter maintenance; and

(v) ordinary bridge maintenance.

Capital Maintenance Programme

5.4 The funding allocation for the capital maintenance programme is based on the HAMP rating system and reflects the agreed intervention levels for 2006/07. This system comprises an independent assessment of the condition of roads and footways identified as potential candidates for substantial maintenance work, such as resurfacing. The HAMP rating intervention level directs funding to those maintenance schemes displaying a higher relative `maintenance need'. This year consideration has also been given to the UKPMS condition assessment ratings to influence the overall surface dressing programme. Therefore the funding allocation within Hart for the 2006/07 capital maintenance programme will differ from the 2005/06 allocation. The provisional total capital allocation for Hart in 2006/07 is approximately £2,178,500. Details of the 2006/07 provisional allocations are set out in Appendix 3.

5.5 Planned structural maintenance repairs undertaken through the capital maintenance programme includes surface dressing, special maintenance and resurfacing schemes. A provisional list of schemes under each of these headings for 2006/07 is attached as Appendix 4.

6. Minor Capital Improvement Schemes

Summary

6.1 This section of the report outlines:

(i) progress with the 2005/06 Minor Capital Works Programme; and

(ii) proposed schemes for the 2006/07 Minor Capital Works Programme and asks the Panel Members to prioritise the schemes for implementation subject to budget.

Background

6.2 The Minor Capital Works (MCW) Programme (formerly known as the `Under £10,000 programme') is funded from the capital allocation based on the Local Transport Plan submission to the Department for Transport. During the 2005/06 financial year, the MCW budget for Hampshire county-wide was in the region of £200,000. Although budgets have not yet been finalised for the 2006/07 financial year, it is anticipated that the budget will be set at a lower level of £148,000 to reflect an adjustment to the traffic management funding structure.

6.3 Members will recall that the MCW programme can only achieve a limited impact to the local infrastructure, but schemes can, and do, benefit local communities by assisting with mobility and safety on the highway.

Progress with the 2005/06 `Under £10,000' Minor Capital Works Programme

6.4 The total allocation for Hart in 2005/06 was £16,500. The schemes identified for the programme were:

(i) Darby Green Road, Darby Green: footway widening on route to school - scheme constructed during summer 2005; and

(ii) Brook Hill, Crondall Road, Crookham Village: new pedestrian facilities. This scheme was deferred from 2004/05 due to Crookham Parish Council wishing to undertake further local consultation following minor changes to the design. Regrettably, due to some local opposition, the Parish Council decided to withdraw its support for the scheme in January 2006. The reserve scheme was Farm Close, Yateley (as noted in the spring 2005 Panel report).

6.5 Unfortunately, the timing of the decision not to proceed with the Brook Hill scheme meant that there was little time to proceed with the reserve scheme this financial year. Additionally, other such schemes in Fareham are expected to require additional funding and there is pressure on the overall budget for such works. Therefore, in consultation with the local County Councillor for the Farm Close, Yateley scheme, it was agreed that the funding for the Brook Hill scheme could be used to supplement the budget for the Fareham schemes. However, an agreement has been made that as the top ranking schemes for 2006/07 in Hart are expected to require £20,000 or more, any additional funding required will be obtained from the 2006/07 Fareham allocation.

2006/07 `Under £10,000' Minor Works Capital Programme

6.6 The `Under £10,000' MCW programme has historically been very popular, with demand for schemes greatly exceeding the funds available. The funding allocation for Hart for 2006/07 is anticipated to be in the region of £25,000 (including the contribution from Fareham, see paragraph 6.5), but is subject to final confirmation. This level of funding will permit the top ranking scheme in the Hart district to be constructed during the financial year.

6.7 Appendix 5 details the current MCW schemes that are on the rolling programme for Hart. All schemes in the appendix have had a set of ranking criteria based on the benefits of the scheme applied to them. The schemes have then been placed in their ranking order.

6.8 As in 2005/06, the Panel is invited to recommend its preference and priority ranking for the schemes to be contained in the 2006/07 programme. Schemes that can be implemented will be subject to the final funding allocation for Hart. It should be noted that the top ranking scheme (Handford Lane, Yateley) will require the total 2006/07 MCW allocation for Hart. This scheme is aimed at improving the safety of pedestrians (including schoolchildren) when crossing the busy Handford Lane, by slightly realigning the edge of the road to enable a pedestrian refuge to be constructed.

7. Impact Assessments

7.1 This report provides a position statement only and therefore an impact assessment in terms of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has not been undertaken.

7.2 However, the highway maintenance programme covers measures that benefit all sectors of the community through improved road and footways. The impact of specific schemes is assessed during the design process.

Recommendations

1. That the sections of this report on Highway Maintenance (Sections 2 to 5) be noted.

2. That the Panel selects the scheme(s) from the list attached as Appendix 5 for inclusion within the Minor Capital Works Programme for 2006/07, and the Executive Member for Environment: South Hampshire and Resource Management be advised accordingly.

825/SP