Agenda item

Report of Corporate Director for Communities, Environment and Resident Services

Meagan Milic, Highways Compliance Manager, and Chris Keene, Head of Highways Services, introduced the report seeking approval for the 2024/25 Local Transport Plan Maintenance Programme and to call-off from approved highways frameworks and external third-party frameworks to deliver the statutory planned highways maintenance programme.  They highlighted the following information:

a)  The Council has statutory obligations in relation to highway maintenance and the works are prioritised based on technical assessment by the Highways Team.

b)  Full road replacement can be very expensive and alternative methods of maintaining the highway, including prolonging the life of a road, are explored to enable limited resources to be maximised.

c)  The importance of good communication with residents is recognised in order to manage expectations about what works will take place and when.  It is anticipated that the Programme for 2025/26 will come to the Committee earlier in the year, allowing a longer lead-in time for communication to take place.

d)  It is hoped that additional funding could be available from the East Midlands Combined County Authority enabling higher value decisions to be taken in the future.

Resolved to:

(1)  approve the Local Transport Plan Maintenance Programme for 2024/25, at a cost of £5.6m, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report; and

(2)  approve the call-off and award from internal and external third-party frameworks that have been let in accordance with public procurement regulations for the delivery of the Local Transport Plan Maintenance Programme 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

Reasons for decision

e)  The decision enables delivery of essential works to fulfil statutory obligations to maintain the public highways through a programme developed in line with the Highways Act 1980 Section 41, local authority benchmarking data and national guidance to best practice and taking into account priorities based on survey data, safety inspections, citizen feedback and road hierarchy.

f)  The benefits of operating under the framework arrangements are:

  i.  enabling the delivery of external grant funded statutory work activity in line with timescales of award;

  ii.  a value for money delivery model with no fixed financial commitments to use the framework;

  iii.  flexibility with no restriction in developing other delivery models for highways in the future;

  iv.  opportunities for local small to medium enterprise companies to deliver works through framework awards;

  v.  the potential for a local workforce through utilising regional small to medium enterprise contractors;

  vi.  ensuring the Council complies with its duty of best value by going through compliant frameworks and mini competition when stipulated by the framework terms;

  vii.  demonstrating the Council’s commitment to all stakeholders in the East Midlands Devolution Plan that it is invested in low carbon economic growth; and

  viii.  utilising framework partners that support the Council’s Carbon Neutral Charter and initiate carbon management through their entire supply chain.

Other options considered

g)  Not approving the spend would have meant that no schemes could be delivered and would have adversely impacted upon overall delivery of the Local Transport Plan Capital Programme.  Therefore this option was rejected.

h)  Not calling-off from frameworks and having compliant procurement measures in place would have adversely affected the Council’s ability to engage with suppliers and contractors to deliver essential highways works within the funding timeframe and there would be no effective means of demonstrating compliance with financial and procurement regulations.  Therefore this option was rejected.

i)  Alternative procurement options, including Term Service Contracts and Multi-Agency Frameworks, would require more stability in the funding regime.  The Council currently receives annual awards for highways maintenance and further grant awards for transport schemes but there is no medium term funding strategy that would assist consideration of a medium-term delivery solution with a third party.  As engagement continues under the East Midlands Combined County Authority agenda and the merging of Department for Transport funding streams may provide opportunity for this option to be considered in the future but it is currently rejected.