To provide the Committee with an update on the Year 1 progress of the Council’s 2020-21 – 22/23 Highway Capital Investment programme; to update the Committee on the progress of the Highway Maintenance Award for 2020/2021 from the Department for Transport (DfT) Local Block Funding; and to seek spend approval for the proposed Highway Maintenance Programme 2020/2021 arising from the additional DfT capital award.  

The Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report providing an update on the Year 1 progress of the Council’s 2020-2023 Highway Capital Investment Programme.

The report stated that the Council had committed to a £9 million Capital Investment Programme over three years to Reading’s local residential roads and pavements. The work had originally been Programmed to be delivered through allocating £3 million per year over the three-year period. There had been a delay in the preparation and start of the Year 1 Programme due to the Covid-19 pandemic which meant that it was necessary to reprofile the £9 million capital investment to £1.5 million in year 1 and £3.75 million in each of years 2 and 3.

The Council had advertised and awarded the competitive tender to Eurovia Infrastructure Ltd to deliver 63 local residential road improvements, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.  Work on the residential road surfacing had begun in October 2020, with 33 roads (approximately 53% of the overall Programme) having been surfaced by 4 November 2020.  Any scheme that had not been completed by late Autumn 2020 would be included in early Spring 2021, when the contractor would be returning to complete the surfacing Programme and to carry out any necessary remedial work. 

With the local residential road surfacing Programme coming to a close in the late Autumn due to weather constraints, focus would be turned to delivering the residential pavement/footway schemes Programme, commencing mid-November 2020 and due for completion by the end of March 2021. These schemes were set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

The report also provided an update on the major roads resurfacing Programme (2020/21), financed by the Department for Transport (DfT) Award. Appendix 3 of the report showed a list of 13 schemes that had been completed with five more schemes that were in progress.

In addition, the report provided an update on the Council’s Bridge/structural maintenance Programme (funded by the DfT award). The report explained that the Council had maintenance responsibility for around 80 bridges and 300 other structures.  Each structure had been inspected in line with the Code of Practice for Highway Structures. Based on these inspections the priority for works within the capital Programme had been determined and a rolling 5-year Programme had been developed and updated annually. Appendix 4 of the report detailed the schemes for 2020-21 that were achievable within the available budget, some of which had already been completed.

The report advised that the DfT had announced on 3 June 2020 an additional ‘Pothole & Challenge Fund’ grant for Local Highway Maintenance allocations for 2020-21 to Local Highway Authorities for repairing potholes on the local road network and improving flood resilience. The £908,000 from the ‘£108 million to the South East’ had originally been funding earmarked to Tranche 2b Bridges but had since been divided amongst all local authorities on the formulae basis and marked as ‘Pothole and Challenge Fund.’ The Council was currently seeking spending approval for the £908,000 DdT award: this comprised £700,000 for Pothole Reduction - major and minor carriageway resurfacing and £208,000 for Bridge/Structural Maintenance and Flood Resilience.

Resolved –

(1)     That the Year 1 progress of the Council’s 2020/21-22/23 £9 million Highway Capital Investment Programme be noted;

(2)     That the progress of the £1.432 million Highway Maintenance Award for 2020/2021 from the Department for Transport (DfT) Local Transport Block Funding (Integrated Transport & Highway Maintenance) Settlement be noted;

(3)     That the £908,000 Additional Highway Maintenance Award for 2020/2021 from the DfT Local Transport Block Funding (Challenge and Pothole Fund) settlement be accepted and that spend approval be given for the proposed Highway Maintenance Programme 2020/2021.