Issue - meetings

(Cllr Lee Scott, ECC Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport)

To provide an update on his plans for the future of Highways in the County, and to address any areas of general concern that Parish and Town Councils may have, including the following items outstanding from the meeting of the Committee held on 5 October 2022 when Cllr Scott gave his apologies:

·       The efficacy of the Local Highways Panel and the adequacy of budgets provided to them.

·       The prime remit of Local Highway Panels

·       What (if any) options are available for introducing traffic calming measures on rural country roads?

·       The contract with Ringway Jacobs, how long this is in place for, when it is due for renewal, and whether or not they offer value for taxpayers’ money?

Cllr S Kane reported that County Cllr L Scott was unavailable for tonight’s meeting, and therefore could not provide an update on his plans for the future of highways in the County nor address any concerns that the Local Councils might have.

In relation to the four specific points raised by the Local Councils, Cllr S Kane had received the following responses from Essex Highways Officers:

(i)         The efficacy of the Local Highways Panel and the adequacy of the budgets provided to them:

“Where there is a solution then the Local Highways Panel will provide one, however it’s not always practical or in some cases legal to commit to every proposal. The scheme list for each panel is generally in excess of the amount of funding available, therefore schemes are prioritised based upon the returned benefit.”

(ii)        The prime remit of Local Highways Panels:

“Information on the Panels remit can be found at the following link https://www.essexhighways.org/local-highway-panels.”

(iii)       What (if any) options are available for introducing traffic calming measures on rural country roads:

“Traffic calming measures are subject to the classification of the highways network. Where sections of the network allow traffic calming measures to be installed they are dependent upon the constraints at the intended location, rural roads are often subject to national speed limits making them inappropriate locations. Where rural roads pass through villages which are subject to 30mph and there are no constraints then traffic calming measures can be considered.”

(iv)       The contract with Ringway Jacobs, how long this is in place for, when it is due for renewal, and whether or not they of offer value for taxpayers money:

“The Ringway Jacobs contract runs until April 2027. An exercise is underway within ECC to determine the contract type that will follow on from the Ringway Jacobs contract, so it will not be ‘renewed’ as such. It is difficult to respond to the ‘value for money’ part of question, however when the contract was originally bid, it was competitively tendered, so it is expected it provided value for money. In addition, over the last couple of years, RJ has been working closely with ECC to successfully identify significant savings and efficiencies and this will continue until the end of the contract.”

Cllr S Kane also highlighted that every scheme cost a considerable amount of money as there was validation and survey work that needed to be undertaken.

            Actions:

(3)        Cllr S Kane to enquire of Highways Officers when better quality ‘Road Closed’ signs would be available.

(Cllr Lee Scott, ECC Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport)

To provide an update on his plans for the future of Highways in the County, and to address any areas of general concern that Parish and Town Councils may have, including:

·         The efficacy of the Local Highways Panel and the adequacy of budgets provided to them.

·         The prime remit of Local Highway Panels

·         What (if any) options are available for introducing traffic calming measures on rural country roads

·         The contract with Ringway Jacobs, how long this is in place for, when it is due for renewal, and whether or not they of offer value for taxpayers money.

·         Why are many of the roads across the district in such a poor state, with poor surface dressing and a shocking number of potholes.  Potholes are always a hot topic, however the number and prevalence of them at this current time is highly concerning.

·         Road Signs and Highway Fingerposts around many villages, especially those rural in nature, are in a dire state, or missing altogether.  What plans are there to remedy this, and/or could funds be made available to parishes to address their own signage defects.

·         Why is it the case that Parish Councils have no direct access in to ECC Highways, and no dedicated contact points.  We feel completely disempowered.  What is the process for if a Parish / Town Council wishes to escalate a matter with ECC Highways.

The County Council Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, Councillor Lee Scott answered questions submitted by the Local Town and Parish Councils set out in the agenda.

District Councillors, Town and Parish Clerks and Councillors asked a number of questions and answers were provided by the Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport for attending the meeting.