Agenda item

To find out about the maintenance programme for the Community Area’s roads from Martin Cook – Area Highway Engineer and Malcolm Beavan – Local Area Highway Manager.

The Area Board will receive a tutorial on how to report a pothole.

The Chairman revised the order of the agenda so that this item took place before the update on Lyneham Banks.

Malcom Beaven, Area Highway Manager (North) and Martin Cook, Area Highway Engineer, updated the Area Board about the maintenance work being carried out on local roads. They also provided information about how to report potholes. Key points included:

·       Wiltshire Council had a statutory duty to maintain the roads under the Highways Act 1980. They employed a group of engineers and support staff to support local maintenance.

·       The majority of the work was delivered through their main contractor, Milestone, who had taken over from Ringway on a five-year contract. 

·       Milestone aimed to open 85,000 gullies over the next five years.

·       The local maintenance team repaired potholes under two square metres, but larger potholes were repaired by the major maintenance team.

·       A wide variety of activities were undertaken to maintain roads, including, grass cutting, drainage, sign cleaning and kerb realignment. Regular inspections of roads were undertaken with the frequency depending on the type of road.

·       Wiltshire Council were also responsible for issuing licences for temporary highway obstructions, such as skips and scaffolding.

·       The team supported Local Highway and Footway Improvement Groups (LHFIGs) where parishes could list their top five priority schemes that they would like to see implemented.

·       Highway maintenance issues could be reported through the MyWilts App.

Following the presentation, the Area Board watched a video demonstrating how potholes were repaired, which was also available online. During the discussion, points included:

·       The Area Board thanked the officers for their update.

·       Diana Kirby, Chair of Tockenham Parish Council, highlighted that she felt that long grass had made some of the junctions near their village unsafe and requested that it be trimmed.

·       In response, the Area Highway Manager (North) explained that they did ad hoc cutting before the main verge cutting took place in September.

·       The Area Highway Engineer reported that they had started a project in 2021 to map areas of concern, undertaken by the previous contractor.

·       Geoff Greenaway from Purton Parish Council noted that it had taken longer than expected to resolve a drainage issue over winter and expressed frustration about temporary pothole repairs not lasting as long as anticipated.

·       In reply, the Area Highway Manager (North) thanked the parish representatives for their feedback and said that they would investigate the issues raised. They were working hard with their new contractor and with parish stewards to make their response as flexible as possible.

·       When questioned about the proportions of issues that were reported by residents and the ones found during surveys, the officer stated that it was roughly half that were identified via each.

·       It was confirmed that if a footpath was going over a road controlled by National Highways, such as Hook Road, then Wiltshire Council would be responsible for its maintenance.

·       Street lighting defects could be reported through the MyWilts App but were managed by the Asset Management Team.

·       Several positions were being advertised in the team which, once filled, would aid with the delivery of LHFIG projects.

·       It was noted that the timing of the renewal of highway maintenance contracts was based on financial years rather than on seasonal factors.

·       Maintenance of trees and hedges next to roads was often the responsibility of the adjacent landowners. Wiltshire Council was able to take enforcement action in cases where they had not been maintained properly.

A webinar with further information about potholes was available online.