Agenda item

To receive information including the following topics:

·       how to report issues

·       the Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group agenda

·       positive highway work carried out

·       forthcoming works

·       parish steward schedule

Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manger (SEPM), Andrew Jack, gave a wide-ranging presentation about Highway related issues.

Statistics

·       Wiltshire had over 2,800 miles of roads, including around 190 miles in the Area Board’s area.

·       Over £4 million had been invested in major highway repairs in the Area Board’s area since 2019.

·       Wiltshire Council was investing an extra £22 million in highways spread over two years.

·       In 2024/25 Wiltshire Council would spend approximately £43 million on highways and transport.

·       The speed at which Wiltshire Council were repairing potholes was improving.

Reporting Maintenance Issues

·       The MyWilts App could be downloaded from a smartphone to report maintenance issues such as potholes. The phone’s GPS could be used to drop a pin on a particular location if the person reporting an issue was there at the time.

·       MyWilts could also be accessed via Wiltshire Council’s website if a person did not have a smartphone.

·       People with an account would receive progress updates on the issues that they had reported. It was acknowledged that updates could sometimes be delayed, although the council were working to improve the system.

·       Issues could be reported by ‘phoning Wiltshire Council, although this would not be quicker than reporting via MyWilts, as the operator would log the job on the app.

Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG)

·       The LHFIG was a working group of the Area Board that town and parish councils could refer issues to.

·       The LHFIG could tackle a range of improvement works, such as pavements and cycling routes. The LHFIG could also fund reviews of, and infrastructure for, speed limit changes.

·       Speed limit reviews tended to be fairly costly with a fixed cost of £3,100.

·       LHFIGs could fund posts for speed indicator devices but could not fund the devices themselves. 

·       Town and parish councils would be expected to cover 25 percent of the costs of projects.

·       The group met four times a year, was supported by an engineer and had a budget of approximately £25,000.

·       The LHFIG decided priorities and created a workplan of projects. Projects would be removed from the list once they had been completed. 

·       It was possible for 20 mile per hour limits to be implemented where traffic was already typically travelling between 20 and 24 miles per hour. 

The Vice-Chairman then gave an overview of recent projects completed by the LHFIG, including traffic calming on the A4 at Manton and a parking scheme in Kennet Place. He emphasised that the scheme in Kennet Place had been successful, and it was possible that it could be rolled out to other areas that requested it. He also encouraged people to drive within the speed limit as it made it harder for other people, inclined to speed, to do so.

Positive Work Carried Out in 2024

·       New pathways and a toucan crossing had been installed on the A346 Salisbury Road.

·       Road resurfacing, new road markings, and adjustment of ironworks had been completed on the A4 Bath Road.

·       Utility and maintenance works had been completed on London Road.

·       Specialist kit, such as Bobcat machines, had been purchased to improve the efficiency of maintenance work.

Forthcoming Works

·       It was possible to search for forthcoming road works on the one.network. The website allowed people to sign up to receive automatic email alerts. It was a flexible system allowing people to search different locations and time periods.

·       Cllr Caroline Thomas noted that work scheduled between 16 and 19 February on the A346 had now been postponed. She also highlighted that significant works were due to take place on Barn Street, down to the Majestic Roundabout and reported that she had requested a police presence to restrict HGVs from being diverted down Kingsbury Steet or at Port Hill. Inspector Garrett noted that he would know where to go if any issues arose.

·       The Chairman remarked that signage advertising the closure of Barn Street would be put up to warn HGVs travelling west from Swindon. Works on a pedestrian crossing on the Green would be completed simultaneously to avoid further disruption.

Parish Stewards

·       Parish stewards were timetabled to travel around local towns and parishes to complete highways works. They usually worked individually but also sometimes worked alongside a wider team on more complex tasks.

·       The Area Board took the opportunity to praise the parish steward who had undertaken work in the local area, including in Aldbourne.

During the discussion of highway issues, the following points were raised:

·       The Area Board thanked the SEPM for his update.

·       In response to a query from Lynzey Paradise, from Avebury Parish Council, about the type of data from speed indicator devices that could be used by the police, the Chairman suggested that she wrote to her and Perry Payne from Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership.

·       The Chairman had raised issues about the accuracy of some information on the one.network with the Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene and Flooding.

·       Wiltshire Council had invested £22 million in Wiltshire’s highways on top of the £20.7 million provided by central government.