The Vale of Glamorgan Council

Community Liaison Committee: 17th October 2018

Report of the Head of Neighbourhood Services and Transport

Condition of Pavements and Roads requested for consideration by Llantwit Major Town Council

Purpose of the Report

To advise Committee of the Council's processes for the maintenance and repair of the Vale's adopted highway network which includes roads and pavements in Llantwit Major.

Recommendations

1. That Committee notes the contents of the report and the legal responsibilities of the Council in respect of the maintenance and repair of the Vale's adopted highway networks.

2. That Committee notes the Council's current maintenance arrangements for its adopted highway network, including roads and pavements in Llantwit Major.

Reasons for the Recommendations

1. To advise Committee of the legal responsibilities of various parties for the maintenance of the adopted highway.

2. To advise Committee of the Council's current maintenance arrangements for its adopted highway, including roads and pavements in Llantwit Major.

Background

The Council's adopted highway network comprises over 1,067km of road broken down into various categories such as A, B, C Class roads as well as unclassified roads including rural lanes. This includes roads within Llantwit Major.
The Council has a statutory duty under Section 41 of The Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highway in a safe condition as far as reasonably practicable.
The Council's Highways and Engineering Section administers a number of separate contracts relating to reactive maintenance and planned improvements of the public or adopted highway network, including roads and pavements in Llantwit Major.
These contracts include the Highway Emergency and Permanent Repairs Contract for reactive maintenance and individual contracts for resurfacing, surface dressing and micro-asphalt treatments for planned maintenance works throughout the whole of the Council's adopted highway network.
The Council maintains a Highway Maintenance 3 year Resurfacing Plan 2018 to 2021 which prioritises resurfacing works or planned maintenance throughout the Vale's adopted highway based on specific engineering assessments and criteria. This Plan is currently reviewed annually and reported to Cabinet.

Relevant Issues and Options

The Council's current Highway Maintenance Policy and Strategy are based on the Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance (Well Maintained Highways) and the Council's own Highway Inspection Safety Manual; Guidance for Highway Safety Inspections a copy of which is provided at Appendix A.
To maintain the adopted highway network in a safe condition as far as reasonably practicable, the Council inspects its entire highway network in accordance with a defined schedule with the frequency of inspections depending on the category and network hierarchy of a particular road.
The scheduled inspections are carried out monthly, quarterly or six monthly with any defects identified exceeding the intervention levels identified in the Highway Inspection Safety Manual categorised for repair as either emergency 24hr or standard within 15 working days. The intervention levels are defined as 20mm in footway and 40mm in carriageway. Defects below these levels are not generally repaired in order to meet the Council's statutory duty.
The current Highway Maintenance 3 year Resurfacing Plan 2018 to 2021 was reported to and agreed by Cabinet on 2nd July 2018. A copy of the Cabinet minute C355 and associated documents in attached at Appendix B.
The Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee subsequently considered the Highway Maintenance 3 year Resurfacing Plan 2018 to 2021 at their meeting held on 12th July, 2018. The Scrutiny Committee recommended that 'the report be noted with the suggestion that the list be amended in the future from alphabetical to priority'. A copy of the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee minute 167 is attached at Appendix C.
When preparing The Highway Maintenance 3 year Resurfacing Plan 2018 to 2021, the Council considered and assessed certain routes suggested by the Town and Community Councils which were identified to be of 'local importance'. The routes suggested by Llantwit Major Town Council included East Street, the road leading to MoD St. Athan West Gate Entrance and Eglwys Brewis Road. Both East Street and Eglwys Brewis Road subsequently scored sufficiently highly under the Council's 'Prioritisation Scoring System' to be included in the plan with a score of 225 (Plan ref no. 56) and 295 (Plan ref no. 26) respectively. The condition of the road leading to MoD St. Athan West Gate Entrance was also assessed, but did not score sufficiently to be considered a priority and was therefore not included under the current Plan.
Additional roads within the Ward area for Llantwit Major assessed and scored for inclusion in the Highway Maintenance 3 year Resurfacing Plan 2018 to 2021, include Water Street, Broughton (via monkton) (Score 295 & Plan ref no. 21); Marcross to Monknash (Score 255 & Plan ref no. 45); Llanmaes village from pensarn to jct (Score 215 & Plan ref no. 63); Llanmaes village toward Millands Caravan Park (Score 215 & Plan ref no. 65); Dimlands Road, Marcross (Score 150 & Plan ref no. 97); and Morfa lane Llantwit Major (Score 155 & Plan ref no. 98). Refer to documents attached at Appendix B.
As reported to Cabinet on 2nd July, it is currently anticipated that the overall budget available this financial year will enable resurfacing works to be undertaken to roads scoring a total of 270 points or above subject to final review of actual works costs. Therefore, the roads on the resurfacing list which do not receive works this year subject to budget limits or other constraints will be reviewed automatically for next year's Plan.
In addition to proposed resurfacing works, the Highway Maintenance 3 year Resurfacing Plan 2018 to 2021 also identifies planned micro-asphalt works which are an essential lower cost preventative treatments to halt the ongoing deterioration of the road surface. The Plan includes Anglesey Close, Castle Street, Flanders Road and Heol Penter Cwrt in Llantwit Major for micro-asphalt treatment this financial year. The list micro-asphalt works have already been completed, including Anglesey Close and Heol Penter Cwrt, however, Castle Street and Flanders Road were too narrow to accommodate the plant and machinery necessary for the treatment to be undertaken as planned. Both Castle Street and Flanders Road will therefore be reviewed for an appropriate surface treatment within next year's Plan.
On the basis of the processes and practices described above, the Council can adequately demonstrate that regular inspections and repair works are carried out to the Council's entire adopted highway network, including the roads and pavements in and around Llantwit Major, to maintain it in a safe condition as far as reasonably practicable as well as discharge the Council's statutory duty to maintain the highway in accordance with The Highways Act 1980.
The Council's defence of highway related third party claims is directly linked to our performance in undertaking timely repairs of the highway and any gap in service provision would increase the risk of third party property damage and personal injury and would detrimentally affect the Council's ability to defend claims for loss or damages in this regard.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

The annual costs of works associated with the Highway Emergency and Permanent Repairs Contract for reactive maintenance is circa £1.2m and is funded from the Neighbourhood Services Revenue Budget. This includes the £500k per annum budget for Big Fill which is currently funded from financial reserves. The contract is managed using existing staff resources within the Neighbourhood Services and Transport Section
The current budget allocation to undertake resurfacing works in accordance with the Highway Resurfacing 3 Year Plan amounts to a total £2.536M for 2018/19. Currently the capital budget for 2019/20 to 2022/23 is set to decrease to only £300k per annum. The resurfacing programme is managed and supervised using existing staff resources within the Neighbourhood Services and Transport Section.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

Highway Maintenance and refurbishments improves the road network which in turn can increase the economic viability of the Vale of Glamorgan as a location.
Sustainability and climate change are considered during the preparation of all highway contracts to minimise waste and maximise the use of recycled materials wherever practicable.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

The Council has a duty to maintain the Highway pursuant to the Highways Act (1980).

Crime and Disorder Implications

There are no crime and disorder implications in respect of this report.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

There are no direct equal opportunity implications as a consequence of this report.

Corporate/Service Objectives

A well maintained highway contributes to corporate Well-being Outcome 4: An Active and Healthy Vale and Objective 7 to Encouraging and promoting active and healthy lifestyles.

Policy Framework and Budget

This report is within the policy framework and budget.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

As the maintenance and repair of the adopted highway is a Vale wide matter, no individual Ward Member consultation has been undertaken.

Relevant Scrutiny Committee

Environment and Regeneration.

Background Papers

None

Contact Officer

Mike Clogg - Operational Manager Engineering

Officers Consulted

Committee Reports - Legal

Environment and Housing - Accountant

Responsible Officer:

Miles Punter - Director of Environment and Housing Services