Agenda item

RESOLVED

KEY DECISION

The Chair invited Cllr Lyn Buckingham to speak on this item. Cllr Buckingham welcomed the additional funding, albeit on the back of the cancellation of HS2. Cllr Buckingham suggested that the funding should not be added to the general highways maintenance budget, but allocated to specific projects where it would have the maximum impact.

The Chair thanked Cllr Buckingham for her contribution and invited Cllr Dorothy Maxwell to address the meeting. Cllr Maxwell stated that current maintenance of highways locally was unacceptable and queried when repairs would start and who would decide which roads would benefit from the additional funding.

The Chair thanked Cllr Maxwell for her comments and invited Cllr Jim Hakewill to speak. Cllr Hakewill welcomed the additional funding and referenced the reporting requirements outlined by the DfT that would allow local people to see for themselves how the money was being spent. Cllr Hakewill stated that scrutiny was needed to understand how funding was being spent, referring to additional funding of £1.5m received in the previous financial year and queried the specifics of its utilisation.

The Chair thanked Cllr Hakewill for his contribution and invited Cllr Matt Binley, Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets to introduce a report that sought approval for the addition to the capital programme of £1.069m of additional highway maintenance capital funding for each of the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25 as announced by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Cllr Binley, responding to the speakers, stated that the Council would publish a work programme to detail exactly how taxpayers’ money was being spent and subsequently provide progress reports on the work undertaken. In response to Cllr Hakewill’s query regarding £1.5m of additional funding received in the previous financial year, Cllr Binley noted that a schedule of works for that funding had been provided and discussed at Full Council. It was noted that the performance of the current highways contract had been considered by the Place & Environment Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 19^th December and was therefore being scrutinised, with further opportunities for discussion at future meetings of the committee.

Cllr Binley noted that the additional funding received was derived from the cancellation of northern phase of HS2 and part of an 11-year government investment plan into the road network. It was reported that the current list of works would be assessed to determine which would be delivered based on current priorities in the list of identified schemes, in accordance with the Northamptonshire Asset Management Plan and the Network Management Plan.

The meeting heard that DfT had stipulated that by March 2024 the Council should publish a summary of the additional resurfacing works to be delivered from the funding over the next two years, with quarterly update reports detailing works completed and which roads had been resurfaced. Later in the 2024/25 financial year, the Council was required to publish a long-term plan detailing the usage of the full 11-year funding programme that could be used for resurfacing schemes, in-laid patching and permanent repairs to potholes.

Cllr David Brackenbury spoke to welcome both the additional funding but also the reporting requirements for its use. Cllr Brackenbury noted that the current highways contractor, Kier and the Director of Place and Economy had attended the Place & Economy Scrutiny Committee on 19^th December with lengthy, informative debate underpinning the notion that scrutiny of highways activity was indeed welcome.

The Chair closed debate by noting that it was positive to receive additional funding that could be used for the benefit of all North Northamptonshire residents.

RESOLVED

KEY DECISION