Contact: Peter Eade, tel 01256 360093 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 Basingstoke for 2005/06 was £1,094,000. Progress throughout the year has generally been in line with the spend profile. At the end of February 95% of the budget had 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 Basingstoke for 2005/06 was £2,246,000 which included an allocation of £326,000 of additional funding approved by the then Executive Member for Environment: South Hampshire and Resource Management 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. 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 allocation of additional capital funding for highways maintenance works (approximately £3.5 million each year) has been approved, the emphasis of this spending has been in the current areas of greatest need, that is road and footway surfaces. In 2006/07 this funding has been set at £3 million and the schemes that have been included as a result of this extra funding are indicated in Appendix 4.

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 Basingstoke in 2006/07 is £1,085,000. 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;

(ii) visibility splay grass cutting;

(iii) winter maintenance; and

(iv) 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 that have been 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 Basingstoke for the 2006/07 capital maintenance programme will differ from the 2005/06 allocation. The provisional total Capital allocation for Basingstoke in 2006/07 is approximately £1,419,000. 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

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 members to prioritise the schemes for implementation subject to budget.

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 less than that of the previous year.

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 Basingstoke in 2005/06 was £19,000. The schemes identified for the programme were:

1. A new footway between Hydes Platt and Early Lands on the Little London Road C90 just south of Silchester - this is scheduled for construction in March 2006.

2. A new footway alongside Vyne Road C144 from Bob's Farm to the Chute Memorial Recreation Ground in Sherborne St John. This scheme was constructed in February and March 2006.

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

6.5 The `Under £10,000' minor capital works programme has historically been very popular with demand for schemes greatly exceeding the funds available. The funding allocation for Basingstoke for 2006/07 is anticipated to be in the region of £12,000 but is subject to final confirmation. This level of funding normally allows only one scheme to be implemented across the Basingstoke district during the financial year.

6.6 Appendix 5 details the current minor capital works schemes that are on the rolling programme for Basingstoke. All schemes in Appendix 5 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.

6.7 As in 2005/06, the Panel is invited to recommend to the Chief Engineer and his staff, their 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 Basingstoke.

7. Forthcoming Utility Works In Basingstoke North - For Information

7.1 The large residential developments in north Basingstoke on Popley Fields, already under construction, with Popley North and the Sir John Hunt School site to come, are creating a demand for enhanced utility supplies. Plans already in hand from Scottish and Southern Energy are to lay a 132kV cable supply from the electricity substation at Bramley through the north and east of Basingstoke to link with the Eastrop substation. This will be tunnelled under the A33 and the railway but elsewhere will need a very large trench to be accommodated. Thames Water also needs to increase its sewer capacity from Popley and so a new pipe is due to be constructed from the north of Basingstoke to Old Basing. A surface water pipe route is also planned along Popley Way. These major projects will inevitably cause traffic disruption over the next two years and will all need careful coordination along with the County Council's A33 works.

Recommendations

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

2. That the Panel select the scheme(s) from the list attached as Appendix 5 for inclusion within the Minor capital Works Programme for 2006/07.

827/PE