Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), that sought approval of the updated Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan and sought approval of the version of the plan attached as Appendix 1 to the report, for implementation.

The Plan had been developed using the national guidance provided by the Government’s Highway Maintenance Efficiency Programme (HMEP) and followed the HMEP principles which the highways team would apply when managing the Authority’s highway assets.

The report brought forward the updated HIAMP which now also reflected the recommendations of the 2016 Well Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice. The changes to the HIAMP included the formal adoption of a risk based approach to highway maintenance, a review and update of the road hierarchy, and the defining of Coventry’s resilient highway network. The HIAMP would help the Authority secure the highest band (band 3) under the Government’s Department for Transport (DfT) Incentive Fund Scheme and it was increasingly being required as part of other funding bids. Its adoption therefore had financial benefits for the Authority.

The Cabinet approved the Coventry City Council Highway Asset Management Policy & Strategy in January 2016 (their minute 93/15 referred), these set out the Authority’s long-term asset management approach to highway maintenance. Following the publication of 2016 Well Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice, the HIAMP had been revised and updated to ensure compliance with the new code.

Infrastructure asset management planning was an established and widely recommended approach in highways and other sectors both in the UK and internationally. Asset management had been widely accepted by central and local government as a means of delivering a more efficient and effective approach to the maintenance of existing infrastructure. It enabled best use of limited resources by taking a long-term view of how highways were managed, focusing on outcomes by ensuring that funds were spent on activities that prevented, as far as possible, expensive short-term repairs. This made the best use of public money whilst minimising the risk involved in investing in highway maintenance.

The adoption of sound highway infrastructure asset management planning enabled the Council to drive efficiency in service delivery; manage demand; use data and information to establish maintenance needs, match maintenance needs to available funding, and prioritise investment to get the best overall network outcomes. The HIAMP would support the case for funding, enable effective communication with stakeholders, and enable a greater understanding of the contribution highway infrastructure assets made to economic prosperity and to local communities.

The national guidance issued by HMEP promoted a joined-up approach to determining how all highway infrastructure assets such as roads, bridges, streetlights etc. were managed. A suite of documents had been developed to reflect this: The Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Policy; The Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Strategy; and The Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan. This hierarchy of documents should be read and referenced as a set, in order to understand the background and reasoning for Coventry’s approach to asset management and to how this would be delivered by the Highway Service. The Management Policy and the Strategy were provided in Appendices 3 and 4 to the report respectively.

The Cabinet Member referred to the importance of anecdotal evidence from personal experiences and findings that was received from residents which, in addition to the Council’s recorded data, was key to assisting with understanding where problems occurred.   

The Deputy Cabinet Member thanked officers for all the work they had undertaken on the Plan and asked that thanks be passed onto them accordingly.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for City Services:

1)  Approves that the Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan appended as Appendix 1 to the report.

2)  Agrees that the Head of Highways, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Services, be authorised to make minor amendments to the Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan as are considered necessary to ensure it remains current and conforms to legislation.