Issue - meetings

To seek approval of the proposed maintenance and Integrated Transport Block (ITB) funding allocation from West of England Combined Authority (WECA) as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), £1m internal funding, £0.560m Transforming Cities Fund and the £2.362m allocation for pothole funding.

That the Transport & Connectivity Policy Committee:

1.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocations of £17.544m of WECA CRSTS maintenance and agree Option 1 for the ITB for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

2.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocations of £1m internal funding for 2025-26.

3.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocation of £0.560m Transforming Cities Fund

4.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocation of £2.362m for additional pothole funding for 2025-26.

5.     Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee to take all steps required to accept and invest up to £21.466m of WECA CRSTS maintenance, ITB, Transforming Cities Fund, pothole and local funding as outlined in this report for both 2025-26 and 2026-27.

6.     Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee to ‘roll over’ underspend from the financial year 24/25 to existing budgets.

7.     Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration, in consultation with the Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, to take all steps necessary to procure and award any contracts (including any contracts over the key decision threshold) necessary to deliver the works identified in Appendix A.1 as maintenance or minor works and any remaining works from last year; making use of existing term contracts and/or approved frameworks where appropriate, up to the budget ceiling identified in Appendix A.1.

8.     Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration, in consultation with the Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, to make reasonable changes to the programme of works to ensure delivery of the programme, in accordance with the Council’s scheme of financial delegations.

9.     Authorised the extension of the value of the existing Highways and Associated Works framework if there is insufficient spend remaining to cover ITB and Maintenance works which may be procured before its expiry on 20th September 2025.

The Policy Committee considered a report seeking approval for the proposed maintenance and Integrated Transport Block (ITB) funding allocation from West of England Combined Authority (WECA) as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), £1m internal funding, £0.560m Transforming Cities Fund and the £2.362m allocation for pothole funding.

It was noted that this was a key decision report as the proposed decision involved over £500k.

The Head of City Transport presented the report and along with responses to Councillors questions and comments, officers confirmed that:

-          It was the view of officers that Option 1 provided the optimum allocation of funding between ITB and maintenance allocations with a good balance between maintenance and local transport funding.  Options 2 and 3 were also provided within the report.

-          The Authorities maintenance programme considered the depreciation of the asset as assessed through the Asset Management System with considered understanding of competing pressures.

-          The re-painting of lines on new road surfaces sat within the Maintenance Resurfacing Budget for Highways.  The reinstatement of lining is a revenue cost with its own applicable budget.

-          Winter was a challenging period for contractor output and workflow increased during the summer months.

-          The £2.362m pothole funding needs to be spent within 2025/26, including as preventative maintenance (which is considered the most cost-effective value).

-          A new contract is soon to be awarded with robust KPIs.  Contract monitoring includes a 12 month guarantee on redressed potholes and an asset monitoring system to highlight directly to officers if it a return reinstatement.

-          The school streets element of the ITB funding will fund approx. 3 schools within this allocation.  Other budgets are also to be utilised.

-          Data from lifecycle modelling indicated that £12m funding is required on top of current allocation across all assets as a five year sustainable investment to address depreciation and create a steady state, after which time investment could drop to £7-8m a year from 5 years.

-          Public reports of deteriorated roads that has been resurfaced should be recorded using the Fix My Streets tool as soon as possible.

The report recommendations were moved by Councillor Plowden and seconded by Councillor Alexander.

On being put to the vote the recommendations were CARRIED unanimously and it was APPROVED that;

The Transport & Connectivity Policy Committee:

1.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocations of £17.544m of WECA CRSTS maintenance and agree Option 1 for the ITB for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

2.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocations of £1m internal funding for 2025-26.

3.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocation of £0.560m Transforming Cities Fund

4.     Noted the proposed indicative funding allocation of £2.362m for additional pothole funding for 2025-26.

5.     Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee to take all steps required to accept and invest up to £21.466m of WECA CRSTS maintenance, ITB, Transforming Cities Fund, pothole and local funding as outlined in this report for both 2025-26 and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10