Agenda item

To receive presentations that will cover topics such as the strategic business plan priorities, maintenance, LTP, congestion, public transport, and air quality.

The Area Board received a presentation from Sam Howell (Director Highways and Transport), Allan Creedy (Head of Sustainable Transport) and Cllr Caroline Thomas (Cabinet Member for Transport, Street Scene, and Flooding). The presentation covered, but was not limited to, the following matters:

Introduction:

·       An overview of the Wiltshire transport context was provided, including how the highway network represented the Council’s largest and most valuable public asset with a replacement value of over £5billion including over 2,8000 miles of road.

·       The relation of Highways and Transport to the Wiltshire Council Business Plan was outlined.

·       Statistics were provided regarding asset management, including statistics of how many parts of the asset needed to be maintained.

Investment in the Network:

·       An overview of the funding available to Highways maintenance was outlined, including that there was a Highways Maintenance fund of £21million, which was topped up by additional funds, such as an additional £3.6million pothole fund.

·       Other additional sources of funding top ups were covered, including additional investment from Wiltshire Council and further Government funding to span a two-year period.

·       It was noted that as a local authority, Wiltshire was robust and had a preventative eye with the importance of prioritising issued outlined.

The Local Transport Plan:

·       The importance of having a Local Transport Plan was outlined, with it setting a framework for maintaining and improving transport in Wiltshire.

·       The importance of the Local Transport Plan aligning with the Local Plan Review to help deliver Wiltshire Council’s Business Plan priorities was stated, with key themes identified including decarbonisation, freight, and active travel.

Public Transport Review:

·       An overview was provided regarding the public transport review, which would aim to shape the future bus policy as well as priorities for support.

·       The consultation timeframe, which ended on 10 November 2023, was outlined as well as that there had been over 1,000 responses.

·       The aim was for a new policy and network to be implemented from April 2024.

Highways Maintenance:

·       It was outlined that the Council has three different approaches to maintenance:

o   Reactive Maintenance - Responding to issues as they arise, such as repairing potholes or replacing damaged signs.

o   Planned Maintenance - Scheduling regular maintenance tasks to prevent issues from arising in the first place or getting worse.

o   Asset Maintenance - Taking a long-term view of highways maintenance and involves evaluating the condition of roads and infrastructure and prioritizing maintenance tasks based on factors like condition, safety, cost, and rate of deterioration.

·       An overview of benchmarking for Highways was provided following a 2022 South West Road condition scanner survey, with Wiltshire in a good position compared to other local authorities. Furthermore, it was noted that this data was used to prioritise investment.

·       An explanation of why so many potholes have occurred was provided as well as detail regarding interim and permanent repairs.

·       It was noted that officers have a defect dashboard which enables them to monitor data relating to reported and completed defects by area.

·       Work regarding flood prevention was outlined.

Local Highway & Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG):

·       The role of LHFIGs was outlined as well as areas which they could fund.

·       It was stated that currently the Westbury LHFIG has 19 live projects, a current budget of £34,958 and spending commitments of £32,470.

Parish Stewards:

·       The role of Parish Stewards was outlined, with it noted that there is 18 Parish Stewards, one for each area, who work with representatives in their parishes to ensure all work requests are clear and are logged for review before they start the work.

Verge and litter clearance:

·       It was outlined that grounds maintenance and street cleansing in the Westbury town and surrounding area was the responsibility of Wiltshire Council and had received an extra investment of £0.3m this year.

·       Enforcement resources were being increased to tackle the issues of fly tipping and rural littering. 

·       The following Wiltshire Council campaigns were outlined 'We're Targeting Fly-Tippers' and 'Don’t Mess with Wiltshire'.

The Area Board received a presentation from John Derryman (Head of Strategy, Performance and Oversight, OPCC). The presentation covered, but was not limited to, the following matters:

Investment:

·       The PCC has invested in 3 new Community Speed Enforcement Officers to support the work of Community Speed Watch Teams, made up of 1,000 volunteers who capture details of speeding to report to the police.

·       Additionally, 3 Road Safety Officers had been recruited with each having been assigned areas to work with residents around road safety,

·       Investments had also been made in technology including cameras and vehicles.

Partnership:

·       The role of Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership working was outlined.

·       It was stated that the PCC had recently recruited a new Road Safety Partnership Manager, who would work with partner organisations to conduct work.

Enforcement:

·       Bespoke enforcement data for Bratton and Edington was provided, which outlined how speed awareness courses and fines were issued.

·       In general, there had been an increase of tickets produced in 2023, with the number above 8,000 for Wiltshire and Swindon.

Speed Indication Devices:

·       Wiltshire Police was the first police force in the UK to accept data from SIDs.

·       Data provided from Dilton Marsh and Edington was presented, with the impact of enforcement in these areas demonstrated with the average maximum speed declining from 45mph to 37 mph.

·       It was noted that every Monday, the police, and Speed Enforcement Team have a meeting to scrutinise the latest SID data and a range of other sources of intelligence, then objectively choose locations and times for enforcement activity.