Highways Improvement Plan

The draft Highways Improvement Plan was created using the recommendations identified by the cross-party highways review panel.

The recommendations were developed over a series of five meetings, with input from a significant Local Government Association (LGA) peer review and external input from industry sector experts WSP.  They formed a comprehensive list of activities designed to improve the council’s highway maintenance work and provide an opportunity to:

  • reduce the need to use reactive short-term maintenance
  • publish a longer-term programme of capital works to keep residents informed of future plans
  • maintain the road network condition and seek to improve it within financial constraints
  • prioritise local roads and footways
  • engage more effectively with residents and local communities
  • increase our effectiveness and efficiency, maximising return on investment by ensuring that our highways maintenance and management works are driven by our policies and strategy.

 

  • Develop a new Highways Strategy
  • Refresh and update the current Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan and Policy and the Network Management Plan

  • Introduce a three year rolling capital programme
  • Develop and implement a formal “cross asset” prioritisation process
  • Optimise the application of in-situ recycling on capital maintenance works
  • Improve the management oversight and quality assurance of sub-contractors

  • Refresh the core specification for highways defect repairs to reflect the asset management/network management plans and policies to ensure optimal treatment selection
  • Ensure appropriate investment in early intervention/prevention treatments to extend the sustainable and effective life of the highway
  • Ensure that the revenue highways maintenance programme is better driven by data and evidence, for example, use of insurance data, new technology and Realtime highway survey data
  • Ensure that the refreshed specifications are set by the Council and are based around required outcomes rather than outputs
  • Ensure that the selection of highways plant by Via is based on these required outcomes and the requirements of the move to longer term highway maintenance programming

  • Introduction of an Operational Hub - Works identification and Specification
  • Revise staff training programmes to increase focus on customer care,  work quality and performance, better use of IT, highways operatives on patching techniques
  • Roll out mobile devices to patching teams

  • Update existing drainage registers and include: grip locations, ditch locations, sensitive carrier drain
  • Deliver an enhanced planned periodic drainage maintenance programme
  • Establish a planned priority programme of soakaway replacements
  • Undertake enhanced inspections of utilities work near drainage assets - utilising Permit scheme income
  • Update the MyNotts app to allow easier drainage issue reporting for residents
  • Strengthen our engagement with riparian owners to support better drainage maintenance by the relevant watercourse owners (drainage champions)

  • Develop a community partnership plan for neighbourhood maintenance to include: street scene maintenance, reduced weed spraying, reduced grass cutting
  • Develop community-based approaches with local community groups and Town/Parish Councils to support local drainage maintenance activity that complements the work of the Council/Via (Drainage Champions)
  • Reactive weed spraying trial
  • Collaboration with district/borough councils to establish improved street sweeping regimes (weed and litter collection)
  • Investigate alternative weed spraying treatments/regimes
  • Revise and re-establish a parish engagement/lengthsman scheme

  • Continue to implement and develop the streetwork management and permit scheme and use of street manager
  • Continue to coordinate permits with different streetworks undertakers in locations and for schemes where there is public benefit
  • Explore the potential for increased use of “service strips” in new developments, in partnership with local planning authorities.
  • Monitor the approach to lane rental in other county councils and commission a feasibility study for the introduction of a Nottinghamshire scheme once the permit scheme is fully embedded (2023/24)
  • Continue to analyse the most congested streets and peak travel times to inform effective permitting

  • Develop and deliver a refreshed communication and engagement plan
  • Move to a communications model that is led and directed by the Council to better support communication and engagement with residents 
  • Better information for councillors related to highways activity in their wards.
  • The wider use of video – to explain highways work
  • Improve correspondence (including web based automatically generated responses) to reflect a more personalised and engaging approach for residents with queries/concerns
  • Closer links with community influencers such as parish councils, to ensure that communities are better informed about local works
  • Update and refresh scheme information/signage to better inform residents of highways works.

  • Move to a more outcomes based contractual model with Via
  • Strengthen the Council’s commissioning arrangements to support greater operational engagement with, and monitoring of, Via
  • Unify and better co-ordinate the Council’s commissioning arrangements for Via – Highways, Flood Risk, Property
  • Improve benchmarking arrangements to help drive performance and provide proof of value for money with visibility for councillors and the public

  • Undertake a detailed review of the division of responsibility between the Council and Via, covering: policy and strategy, core asset management and works/scheme/treatment prioritisation and the interface with members and residents, including District Managers
  • Ensure leadership arrangements in both the Council and Via reflect the outcomes of the Review and the revised roles of both organisations.

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