Agenda item

To consider the Highway Infrastructure Investment Funding Plan.

(1)     That the Capital Programme for Borough Economy is reprofiled to provide a capital highway allocation of £3,602,000 for 2023/24 with the remaining balance of £2,981,000 (existing capital highway allocation of £6,583,000 less 2023/24 requirement of £3,602,000) carried forward to 2024/25.

(2)     That up to £500,000 of preventative maintenance work currently treated as revenue expenditure be capitalised and funded as part of the allocation of £3,602,000 in resolution (1).

(3)     That up to £500,000 of revenue released in resolution (2) is earmarked for use in 2023/24 for potential revenue pressures and risks associated with energy inflation, supplies and services inflation and increased gritting in the event of a severe winter.

(4)     That capital resources of £1,901,550 be allocated in 2024/25 in addition to the £2,981,000 of Highway Capital Programme funding re-profiled from 2023/24 giving a total budget requirement of £4,882,550 for 2024/25.

(5)     That after the use of unspent capital from existing allocations the additional capital requirement for 2024/25 of £1,901,550 is funded from Corporate Main Programme resources, with any resulting prudential borrowing finance charges funded within Highways revenue budget and should additional borrowing be required to fund the additional capital budget requested, it is estimated that this would result in additional revenue costs to the council of £167,535 per annum over an 18 year period, with these costs being funded within Highways revenue budgets.

(6)     That a further report to Cabinet is submitted in Autumn 2024 after the Highway Infrastructure condition is reviewed in Summer 2024, to identify the budget that would be required in 2025/26 in order to address the replacement of red risk Highway Infrastructure.

Approval was sought for the Highway Infrastructure Investment Funding Plan.

The Chair of the Economy, Skills, Transport and Environment Scrutiny Board inquired as to the reasoning behind the unspent capital, how the Plan addressed problems with the public footway and the material used to repair potholes across the Borough.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways advised that a range of factors had led to unspent capital including changes to revenue accounting which had brought forward some revenue spend from 2023/24 to 2022/23 delaying the need for part of the capital requirement, the mild winter, the release of maintenance and postponing the need for capital in 2022/23. Taken together, those factors allowed £2.981million of the planned £10.702million expenditure for 2022/23 to be reprofiled into 2023/24.

In addition, the Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways stated that public footway repairs were programmed in priority order based on condition surveys regardless of the cause and potholes were permanently repaired in accordance with specified materials and standards.

Reason for Decision

The Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Lifecycle Plan set out the framework for investment in, management of and the operation of highway the highway network to meet legal obligations and high public expectations for safe, reliable and accessible travel within the wider objectives of strategy set out in the West Midlands Local Transport Plan.

Asset Management was about managing and maintaining and operating carriageways, footways, street lighting, structures, traffic signals, drainage and street furniture through long term planning and optimal allocation of resources in order to manage risk for a defined service performance.

The Council had a statutory duty of care to users and the community to maintain the highway in a condition fit for purpose, as far as was reasonably practicable. The duty was not absolute but decisions had to be taken on reasonable grounds with due care and regard to relevant considerations set out in best practice guidance such as “Well Managed Highway Infrastructure – A Code of Practice (October 2016).

A key aspect of the HIAMP was the development of strategic lifecycle plans for each critical infrastructure asset, including;

·               880km of carriageways, of which 75% are unclassified roads;

·               1,440km footways and cycleways;

·               35,000 street/lights, illuminated signs, traffic signals;

·               450 bridges and structures;

·               3500km drainage & culverts including 40,000 gullies & connections;

·               A wide range of other street furniture.

Alternative Options Considered

An alternative would be to limit the repair of high-risk infrastructure to a value that matched the £4.741m City Region Sustainable Settlement maintenance block grant. There would consequently be no Council capital provision available to fund the gap in the cost of replacement of high-risk life expired highway infrastructure. The programme of urgent work for 2024/25 would not be completed. This was not recommended because the red risk backlog had been escalating. Also, a severe winter could add £3m to £5m to projections.

Resolved:-

(1)          that the Capital Programme for Borough Economy be reprofiled to provide a capital highway allocation of £3,602,000 for 2023/24 with the remaining balance of £2,981,000 (existing capital highway allocation of £6,583,000 less 2023/24 requirement of £3,602,000) carried forward to 2024/25;

(2)          that up to £500,000 of preventative maintenance work currently treated as revenue expenditure be capitalised and funded as part of the allocation of £3,602,000 as referred to on Resolution (1);

(3)          that up to £500,000 of revenue released in Resolution (2) be earmarked for use in 2023/24 for potential revenue pressures and risks associated with energy inflation, supplies and services inflation and increased gritting in the event of a severe winter;

(4)          that capital resources of £1,901,550 be allocated in 2024/25 in addition to the £2,981,000 of Highway Capital Programme funding re-profiled from 2023/24 giving a total budget requirement of £4,882,550 for 2024/25;

(5)          that after the use of unspent capital from existing allocations the additional capital requirement for 2024/25 of £1,901,550 be funded from Corporate Main Programme resources, with any resulting prudential borrowing finance charges funded within Highways revenue budget and should additional borrowing be required to fund the additional capital budget requested, it is estimated that this would result in additional revenue costs to the council of £167,535 per annum over an 18 year period, with these costs being funded within Highways revenue budgets;

(6)          that a further report to Cabinet be submitted in Autumn 2024 after the Highway Infrastructure condition is reviewed in Summer 2024, to identify the budget that would be required in 2025/26 in order to address the replacement of red risk Highway Infrastructure.