M a n a g e m e n t P l a n

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1 Highway MAINTENANCE M a n a g e m e n t P l a n Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 5 2. Policy Framework Service Delivery Maintenance Strategy and Hierarchy Inspection, Assessment and Recording Condition Standards Programming and Priorities Sustainable Highway Maintenance Financial Management Performance Management 105 Appendices 113 LONDON BOROUGH OF HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT PLAN Environment Services Department Highways and Engineering Division Issue 1 July 2006

2 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The production of a Highway Maintenance Management Plan is not a statutory requirement. However it follows national good practice shared by many local highway authorities in detailing policy, strategy and operations of the highway maintenance service in a single comprehensive document. The Plan will become an integral element of an Asset Management Plan which is likely to become a statutory document to be produced by all local highway authorities in England in the near future. The Hammersmith and Fulham Highway Maintenance Management Plan is the comprehensive highway maintenance document linking corporate policies to the highways maintenance strategy leading to maintenance policies, standards and service delivery mechanisms. It is founded on the key principles of best value and continuous improvement and conforms to the recommendations set out in the national Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management (Well maintained Highways) published in July It is based on a risk management strategy and is a fundamental component of an Asset Management Plan. This document is divided into the following sections: Introduction this sets the scene for the development of the Highway Maintenance Management Plan with the requirements of the new Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management entitled Well maintained Highways. It considers the purpose and scope of the highway maintenance service together with the duties of local highway authorities. Policy Framework this encompasses the key best value requirement for policy integration by linking the Council s aspirations and strategic objectives to the Government s transport policy. This is considered through the Borough Council s Best Value Performance Plan and Community Strategy linked through the Unitary Development Plan and the Mayor s Transport Strategy to the Local Implementation Plan and Borough Spending Plan. Delivery of these objectives and policies are underpinned by a risk management strategy. Service Delivery this defines how maintenance activities are actually undertaken. It comprises the nature and extent of the client, all consultant and contracting arrangements incorporating types of contract etc. Consideration is given to future procurement strategies taking into account the fundamental requirement for competition (one of the 4 C s) necessary for securing best value and continuous improvement. Maintenance Strategy and Hierarchy this develops the strategy through its constituent elements of a detailed inventory, a defined hierarchy and policies and objectives. The hierarchy is the foundation of the strategy and is fundamental in determining policy priorities. However, to operate effectively, the strategy is underpinned by a comprehensive management system linked to the inventory. Inspection, Assessment and Recording this defines the inspection and assessment regime detailing safety and service inspections and condition surveys. The inspection regime incorporates items for inspection, frequencies of inspection, defect investigatory levels, risk assessments and defect response times. The foundation of this regime is the risk management strategy which determines responses to defects. This section also comprises

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY the policies and procedures that are fundamental to safety and third party insurance issues. Condition Standards linking to the core network objectives of safety, serviceability and sustainability, this section defines the condition at which investigatory levels for maintenance are applicable and the appropriate treatments that may result. It covers all elements of maintenance activity and also includes regulatory functions, winter service and weather and other emergencies. Programming and Priorities this sets within the context of asset management the establishment of priorities at corporate, departmental and maintenance levels. Programming and prioritising maintenance works are considered in relation to statutory requirements, core network objectives, maintenance type activities (such as reactive and routine maintenance) and maintenance category elements (such as drainage systems and road markings). Due consideration is given to value management and value engineering, which are the fundamental processes of programming, prioritisation and value for money. Sustainable Highway Maintenance this sets out the requirements for consistent standards of quality in respect of materials, treatments and processes in order to meet the core network objectives and to secure best value and continuous improvement. Consideration is given to environmental issues, noise pollution, waste management, the recycling of existing highway materials and the National Highway Sector Schemes. Financial Management this sets out the financial procedures to be adopted and considers financial planning and asset valuation. Consideration is given to the Whole of Government Accounts, accruals accounting and capital investment under the Prudential Code. It also considers sources of funding, budget allocation procedures and budgetary control in respect of programmed, reactive and routine maintenance, both for revenue and capital expenditure. Performance Management this identifies how performance is measured under the relevant contractual arrangements for consultants and contractors together with the mechanisms for monitoring and review. It also sets out how the authority is measured in terms of best value and CPA through benchmarking, performance indicators and performance targets.

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5 INTRODUCTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT PLAN A Highway Maintenance Management Plan is an important document for all local highway authorities. It forms an important component of the Highways Asset Management Plan (HAMP), which is currently under development in Hammersmith and Fulham. It describes the highway maintenance service, incorporating maintenance strategy, policies and standards and specifying how maintenance works are delivered. It is based on risk management, conforms to the requirements of the 2005 Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management, and adheres to the principles of best value and continuous improvement. It is fundamental that the maintenance strategy is set in the context of the authority s vision and strategic objectives, with particular account being taken of: The results of Best Value Reviews Continuous Improvement Plans CPA Comprehensive Improvement Plans. The highway maintenance service in Hammersmith and Fulham was a fundamental component of the Borough s Best Value Review of Street Scene Services completed in 2001 and inspected by the Audit Commission in The assessment by the Audit Commission was a good service with promising prospects for improvement. The findings in this review are a basis for the future of the service and are set out in the Street Scene Action Plan (latest revision February 2005). A key aspect for improvement in the area of service standards and management systems, highlighted by Zurich Municipal in 2004 in its report on public liability claims in the Borough, is the development of a highway maintenance strategy based on the 2001 national Code of Practice for Maintenance Management (subsequently revised by the 2005 Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management). This document comprises the objectives, policies, procedures and standards of the new highway maintenance management plan and is supplemented by the following additional documents: Network Hierarchy Schedules and Plans Safety and Service Inspection Schedules LBHF Code of Practice for Highway Inspections Risk Register for Highway Safety Defects. 1.2 CODE OF PRACTICE FOR HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT The new Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management entitled Well-maintained Highways, published in July 2005, supersedes the 2001 Code of Practice for Maintenance Management entitled Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance. It is based on the principles of best value and continuous improvement and is an important component of a Highways Asset Management Plan. Services should be based upon the needs of users and the community rather than the convenience of service providers, and hence the need for local flexibility. The importance of highway maintenance and its relevance to the integrated transport agenda is widely recognised. It is important that the service is closely integrated, not only with overall transport policy, but also with other key areas of policy.

6 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N Maintenance policy and practice should be sufficiently flexible to respond and add value to a wide range of local circumstances. It should retain the level of consistency expected by users, particularly for those parts of the network serving more than a local function. The duty of best value means regular review, comparing performance and challenging service delivery arrangements. This is in order to secure continuous improvement in pursuing defined outcomes. This regime has since been supplemented by Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPA) which has a broader corporate performance remit, Local Public Service Agreements (LPSA) and more recently Local Area Agreements (LAA) which gain additional funding for stretch targets in selected Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI). A key area of performance improvement is that of procurement, with the expectation that reviews should specifically consider the potential for competition in service delivery. The 2004 Gershon efficiency review identified the potential for obtaining better value for money through collective purchasing. The strong focus on the needs of users rather than providers brings a requirement for greater emphasis on consulting and involving users. This requires careful local consideration of how to undertake this most effectively for such a wide ranging and complex service. Finally, the importance should be stressed of the need for highway maintenance to meet the continuing challenge of sustainability. This requires that the wider economic, social and environmental implications of both the service and its individual schemes, must be understood, and then related to best quality of life outcomes. The Borough fully endorses the principles of the new revised Code of Practice and will seek to ensure that all highway maintenance activities in Hammersmith and Fulham are undertaken in accordance with the recommendations of the Code. 1.3 PURPOSE AND SCOPE The main purpose of highway maintenance is to maintain the highway network for the safe and convenient movement of people and goods. The core objectives of highway maintenance are to deliver a safe, serviceable and sustainable network, taking into account the need to contribute to the wider objectives of asset management, integrated transport, corporate policy and continuous improvement. These core objectives can be summarised as follows: Customer Service Network Safety Network Serviceability Network Sustainability. The principles, which underpin and define these objectives are: Network Safety 1. complying with statutory obligations 2. meeting users needs for safety Network Serviceability 1. ensuring availability 2. achieving integrity 3. maintaining reliability 4. enhancing condition

7 INTRODUCTION Network Sustainability 1. minimising cost over time 2. maximising value to the community 3. maximising environmental contribution. The Customer Service needs are effectively implied or included in these three core objectives. They are more specifically addressed under performance indicators in the Performance Management section. The scope of the highway maintenance service is very wide ranging and encompasses the following types of activity: Reactive responding to inspections, complaints or emergencies Routine regular consistent schedule for patching, gully cleansing, landscape maintenance and other activities Programmed planned schemes, primarily of resurfacing, reconditioning or reconstruction Regulatory inspecting and regulating the activities of others Winter Service - providing salting and clearance of snow and ice Weather and other emergencies providing a planned emergency response. All technical and operational standards contained in this Maintenance Plan are for guidance as investigatory levels only. Decisions for action must be taken in accordance with the risk management strategy. The adoption of these key principles allied to a risk management strategy will not only lead to an effective, efficient and economic highway maintenance service but will assist in providing a defence against third party claims for accidents and injuries sustained on the highway. 1.4 AIMS AND DUTIES The Borough Council has a duty as the local highway authority for Hammersmith and Fulham, to ensure that all roads and footways, for which it is responsible, are maintained in a safe condition, having regard to the amount and nature of the traffic using them. It is also the aim to provide a road network with a condition and environment, which are acceptable to the citizens of Hammersmith and Fulham, its visitors and commuters, and the travelling public. In the pursuit of this aim, the Council is committed to ensuring that all funds available for the service are used as effectively as possible. To undertake this duty and in seeking to achieve these aims, the following strategies have been adopted: to develop a clear strategy for prioritising highway maintenance funding particularly when difficulties occur or there are conflicting demands to engage in regular consultations with users to ascertain views, needs and priorities and to ensure regular feedback to keep users informed to programme and prioritise works, having taken into account the results of user consultations, consistent with the risk management strategy to ensure value for money by maximising expenditure on works on the highway, whilst ensuring that sufficient and appropriate data is collected to enable informed decisions on priorities for expenditure to be taken

8 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N to continue to develop the use of condition data and other management information in accordance with UKPMS (United Kingdom Pavement Management System) to ensure that highway maintenance activities are undertaken in accordance with the principles of the revised Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management to seek/research improved materials and delivery mechanisms in order to achieve continuous improvement to ensure that maintenance works are undertaken in accordance with the Borough Council s environment policy to meet the Council s environmental objectives to ensure that all activities are carried out to appropriate quality procedures. These strategies will be incorporated in a Highways Asset Management Plan which is programmed for Responsibility for highway maintenance in the Borough is divided between the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Borough Council. There are no longer any trunk roads in the Borough which would have been the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport. The maintenance liability for the most busily trafficked and important roads in the Borough (the A4 and A40) are the responsibility of the Mayor of London, and these GLA roads administered through Transport for London (TfL) are known as the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN). All remaining roads in the Borough are the responsibility of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Although transport strategy throughout Greater London is the responsibility of the Mayor, the Borough Council is responsible for developing the policies to deliver the strategy. Accordingly, the Borough Council is responsible for all matters of policy, funding and standards of performance in respect of Borough roads. In regard to works undertaken by the Borough Council on the TLRN on behalf of TfL, TfL determines all policies, funding and standards of performance. The statutory duty of highway authorities to maintain that part of the highway defined as being maintainable at public expense is enshrined in the Highways Act 1980 (presently consolidated in S41 of the Act). Under S56 of the Act, any person may apply to the courts for an order requiring the highway authority to take remedial action in cases of alleged non-repair by that authority. The authority may also face an action for damages resulting from failure to maintain the highway. S58 of the Act provides that in the event of an action it shall be a defence to show that the road was kept in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the traffic using it, the standard of maintenance appropriate to its use and public safety. The statutory basis for the winter service has been addressed through a modification to S 41 of the Highways Act by S111 of the Railways and Transport Act This requires highway authorities to ensure, as far as practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow and ice. In addition, S150 of the Highways Act imposes a duty on highway authorities to clear obstructions from the highway resulting from the accumulation of snow or from the falling down of banks on the side of the highway, or from any other cause. However, issues raised by the judgement in Goodes v East Sussex in respect of a winter service case, regarding limitation of maintenance duty to the highway fabric, have wider implications for the maintenance service. These still remain and will evolve over time.

9 INTRODUCTION Road openings in the highway executed by or on behalf of statutory undertakers under the provisions of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA), are backfilled and maintained by the organisation making them. The role of the highway authority is mainly that of co-ordinating and controlling road works and designating traffic sensitive routes and structures of special engineering difficulty. Increased control of utility works is enshrined in the Traffic Management Act 2004 which introduces a network management duty on highway authorities. Authorities have to manage their road network with a view to: securing the expeditious movement of traffic on the authority s road network facilitating the expeditious movement of traffic on road networks for which another authority is the traffic authority. There is a wide range of other legislation affecting highway maintenance, either directly or indirectly, imposing powers or duties on highway authorities. Even in the absence of specific duties and powers, authorities have a general duty of care for users and the community to maintain the highway in a condition fit for its purpose.

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11 POLICY FRAMEWORK 11 2 POLICY FRAMEWORK 2.1 VISION FOR HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM The vision for Hammersmith and Fulham is set out in the 2005/06 Hammersmith & Fulham Council s Best Value Performance Plan. The Council s aim is to build upon the achievement of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) excellence by continuing to provide first class local services and delivering the ambitious plans for improvement outlined in the Plan. The Council is committed to placing its customers first and improving the quality of life throughout the borough. It is committed to delivering improvements to council services and ensuring residents receive quality services which are value for money. Priority will be given to those services that local people value the most; schools, social services, street cleansing and refuse collection, affordable housing and tackling anti-social behaviour. Local authorities have a legal duty to lead the development of a ten year strategy to improve the social, economic and environmental well-being of their area, and this is known as the Community Strategy. In pursuance of this, the Council works closely with local organisations and the community to improve the area. The Borough Partnership is the executive of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and is responsible for community leadership, strategic planning and performance. It is chaired by the Leader of the Council and is composed of other executive councillors, and representatives from the public sector, local business and the voluntary and community sectors. Its work focuses on: promoting well-being by tackling discrimination, disadvantage and social exclusion in all forms bringing together all those with an interest in the Borough residents, community & voluntary groups, public services and businesses ensuring the widest possible participation and consultation in planning the future of the Borough and carrying out those plans. The Borough s Community Strategy Your Borough Your Future was agreed by the Borough Partnership, and by the Council in Its three broad objectives designed to achieve a significant improvement in the quality of life of local people over the next decade and to underpin the performance plans of the Council and its local partners in the public, business and voluntary and community sectors are: a safe, clean and green borough to reduce fear of crime and promote a healthier, more sustainable environment in which to live through the Borough s Smarter Borough campaign and the joint crime and disorder partnership with the Police a fair chance to help people to overcome deprivation and disadvantage and give everybody in the borough the opportunity to share in its prosperity convenient services to provide modernised, cost-effective services more tailored to the needs of individuals, as being developed through the council s Customer First programme and similar initiatives in other local public services. The review of the Community Strategy has identified that residents priorities for the borough continue to focus on the physical environment (clean streets, road and pavement repairs), community safety and reducing traffic congestion and pollution. To assist in delivering community strategy priorities through further improvements and more difficult targets, extra resources have been secured for the implementation of a Local Area Agreement (LAA), which is a second generation Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA). This is a three year

12 12 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N agreement due to conclude in March 2008 focusing on three key themes: reducing child poverty safer and stronger communities adults and health. 2.2 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Delivering the community strategy priorities will also enhance the Council s likelihood of reconfirming its excellent status for CPA assessment. The aim of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) is to ensure that continuous improvement takes place in local services and that all local authorities raise standards to those of the best. The process takes account of the quality of a council s services, its track record in providing leadership and working with the community to improve the area, and the extent to which effective systems are in place that can deliver continuous improvement. As well as an assessment of key services including environment, each authority also has an independent corporate inspection to judge the effectiveness of its political and managerial arrangements and its overall ability to improve services. Overall, Hammersmith and Fulham is rated as an excellent authority with its services assessed as good. Fundamental to the CPA process is the need for continuous improvement. Significant changes in 2005/06 will make CPA a more stringent test than previously. The next corporate assessment due in 2007/08 will place greater emphasis on achievement against the following 5 key priorities: sustainable communities and transport safer and stronger communities healthier communities older people children and young people. Annual service assessments from 2005 onwards will include: a more explicit assessment of resource management and value for money greater emphasis on the use of performance information to evaluate service blocks. The council-wide drivers for change in 2005/06 and onwards comprise the key priorities of the Community Strategy, the Local Area Agreement the CPA Improvement Plan and the new CPA requirements. The introduction of a medium term financial strategy, necessitated by the restructuring of local government finance, to improve the linkage between budget planning, service planning and performance management is an ongoing process, and will be fundamental to the Whole of Government Accounting when introduced in 2006/07. Insofar as the highways service is concerned, particular key drivers for change include: five year action plan arising from the Best Value Review of Street Scene Services implementation of network management duties required by the Traffic Management Act 2004 development of procurement strategy to deliver Gershon Efficiency Review savings.

13 POLICY FRAMEWORK BUSINESS PLAN 2005/06 The Business Plan 2005/06 for the Highways and Engineering Division links the corporate vision and key aims into priorities and targets for, amongst others, the highway maintenance service. The Plan identifies the roles of the service including the maintenance, management and improvement of highways and lighting, outlines the scope of the service and summarises the aims through key actions and targets. The service objectives are set out in the Plan and demonstrate how the service will help deliver the Council s core objectives of a fair chance, a safe, clean, green Borough and convenient services. A fair chance The new Traffic Management Act provides the Council with additional legal powers to control statutory utility works on the highway. The aim is an overall reduction in traffic disruption and an improvement in conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and bus passengers, as well as seeking to ensure that the transport infrastructure is available to those who need to use it. A safe, clean, green Borough This is being achieved by improving safety on the highway, reducing car dependency through car-free housing policies, traffic schemes, parking controls, cycle and bus lane schemes, and insofar as highway maintenance is concerned, ensuring that the Council s roads and footways are well maintained. Convenient services The Customer First programme is directly geared to improve the interface with customers and the level of customer care, with a desired outcome of increased customer satisfaction. Quality and efficiency is being improved through new partnerships being developed with contractors and works being managed through the new CONFIRM system. These corporate objectives are to be delivered by: meeting all statutory requirements ensuring the safe passage of vehicles and pedestrians on the network meeting the needs of the customer maintaining the infrastructure and assets of the highway network achieving consistently high standards of recruitment, training and development of staff minimising disruption on the network through improved works coordination and contingency planning identifying and delivering improvements to the environment providing a best value service including financial accountability improving the management and access to information to meet e-gov targets providing a positive experience for customers making contact with the department in line with customer first. The key objectives for the Division are to: implement streetscene improvements ensure that the Borough is at the forefront of implementing the Traffic Management Act including partnership working with neighbouring authorities and TfL in parallel with the LIP ensure investment in highway infrastructure by developing a highway maintenance plan and asset management strategy promote position as the lead highway maintenance Borough in London continually improve safety on the highway

14 14 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N continually improve the delivery of Highway and Engineering Services. The Business Plan contains an appendix of the detailed objectives for 2005/06 which lists aims, action planned, milestones/targets, target dates and community strategies and priorities. Targets in respect of highway maintenance are more particularly described later in the Performance Management section. 2.4 TRANSPORT STRATEGY Overall transport strategy within London is the responsibility of the Mayor. The Mayor s Transport Strategy sets out ten key priorities for transport in London, which are: reducing traffic congestion, particularly in central London and local town centres overcoming the backlog of investment on the Underground so as to safely increase capacity, reduce overcrowding, and increase both reliability and frequency of services making radical improvements to bus services in London, including unreliability and slow journey times better integration of the National Rail system with London s other transport systems to facilitate commuting, reduce overcrowding and move towards a London wide, high frequency turn up and go metro service facilitating car travel in outer London, whilst developing and promoting the alternatives of public transport, walking and cycling so that the proportion of trips made by car is reduced supporting boroughs local transport initiatives, including improved access to local town centres and regeneration areas, walking and cycling schemes, safer routes to schools, road safety improvements, better maintenance of roads and bridges, and improved co-ordination of streetworks making the distribution of goods and services in London more reliable and efficient, whilst minimising environmental impacts bringing forward new integration initiatives to improve key interchanges, enhance safety and security, and provide much better information and waiting environments improving the accessibility of London s transport systems so that everyone, regardless of disability, can enjoy the benefits of living, working and visiting the Capital, thus improving social inclusion increasing the capacity of London s transport systems by major new cross London rail links, improved orbital rail links in inner London, new Thames river crossings in east London, and new guided bus or tram projects in central, inner and outer London. In regard to maintenance, the most serious issue is the backlog of programmed structural maintenance on borough roads resulting from years of under-funding, highlighted by a survey conducted for the Government Office for London IN July 2000 which suggested that the backlog required to bring London s principal roads up to standard is over 100 million. The Council s framework for development, development control and conservation in Hammersmith and Fulham is set out in the revised Unitary Development Plan (UDP) adopted in The overall strategy is to provide a safe, accessible, efficient and integrated transportation network for people and goods, while maintaining a satisfactory local environment through the application of an appropriate combination of integrated land-use and transportation planning policies, taking full account of their regional implications. In pursuance of the recent changes to the planning system in England, the UDP will be reviewed in the light of the London Plan

15 POLICY FRAMEWORK 15 and is due to be replaced by the Local Development Framework (LDF) in The Council s planning strategy in respect of transport and accessibility is limited insomuch as other agencies have responsibilities for key aspects of the transportation infrastructure, although it will seek to make adequate accessibility to facilities for all borough residents. The transport policies are set out in the Transportation and Accessibility chapter of the UDP and these are mainly concerned with the control of development and the disposition of land uses. These transport policies are a building block in formulating an integrated transport strategy appropriate for the borough. Hammersmith and Fulham Council s Local Implementation Plan for Transport (LIP) is a statutory document detailing transport strategy for the borough underpinned by the policies in the UDP. It has been developed to reflect the Government s Ten Year Plan, and is a major contributor in seeking to achieve the Council s long term vision. It outlines how the Borough Council intends to implement the Mayor s Transport Strategy, provides the policy context for the Council s bid for transport funding and outlines the Borough s proposals throughout the life of the LIP. In accordance with Government recommendations, the Borough Council has developed an integrated transport strategy providing the framework for a safe, accessible, efficient, integrated and environmentally sustainable transport system for people and goods. The Council will achieve this by: giving a high priority to providing for the needs and safety of vulnerable travellers, including disabled people, older people, pedestrians and cyclists, and to improving the mobility and access to facilities of disabled people maintaining a road network which is sufficient to cater for essential traffic movements, with a presumption against any increase in road capacity for general traffic except where there would be specific local benefits promoting traffic management and traffic calming measures so as to protect residential areas and main shopping streets from the environmental impacts of through traffic promoting traffic restraint and traffic reduction policies by: 1. strictly controlling the provision of car parking spaces in developments 2. progressively extending controlled parking zones and strengthening controls in all areas of the borough experiencing on-street parking problems 3. relating the intensity of development to public transport accessibility 4. pursuing the road traffic reduction targets in the Mayor s Transport Strategy 5. seeking improvements to, and the development of, public transport systems and services, including measures to improve interchange and extend bus priority, so as to achieve a better level of service provision, quality of service and accessibility 6. promoting measures to reduce the environmental impact of freight traffic and encouraging measures to expand the use of rail and water for freight transport. In order to deliver this strategy, the Borough Council has developed key transport policies linked to modes of travel, safety, congestion, the environment and management of the network. From these policies, appropriate programmes of works have been formulated. Highway maintenance is a fundamental component of the management of the network and its importance is acknowledged in the Borough s

16 16 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N fight against the deterioration of the state of the roads and footways in Hammersmith and Fulham. This can be caused by heavy traffic and the level of activity of statutory utilities, both of which have a considerable impact on the condition of the highway. Programmes of work to deliver the transport strategy are contained within the Borough Spending Plan (BSP), which is the annual submission to Transport for London (TfL) of the Council s funding bid for grant and the Council s annual Capital Programme which identifies all capital works to be undertaken including Council funded schemes, grant funded schemes and third party funded schemes. Rolling programmes have been established for carriageway reconstruction, footway reconstruction, gully replacements and street lighting column replacements. In order to maximise value for money, these programmes are prioritised by having regard to assessments of network condition and maintenance strategies and policies based on the principles laid down in the new Code. 2.5 DELIVERING BEST VALUE From 1 April 2000 the duty of best value was placed on local authorities in respect of the funding, procurement and delivery of all services. It required authorities to: ensure that services are responsive to the needs of the community not the convenience of service providers secure continuous improvement in the exercise of all functions, whether statutory or not, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The principles of best value are particularly relevant to highway maintenance for the following reasons: highways are a major public asset highly valued by the community maintenance attracts a high level of public interest and concern performance indicators have historically been difficult to obtain benchmarking has been difficult to obtain with any measure of accuracy whole life costing has been approached in a very inefficient manner there is a wide and diverse range of service delivery options. The original requirement was that authorities needed to demonstrate best value through the process of Best Value Reviews involving: fundamental review of all services every five years publishing a Best Value Performance Plan each year independent assessment. Reviews were to be based upon the 4 C s (Challenge, Compare, Consult and Compete) and authorities needed to show that for every review their process is: challenging why and how the service is being provided and also challenging current levels of economy, efficiency and effectiveness comparing their performance with others through local, regional and national benchmarking networks consulting with users and the wider community in regard to service provision with regular sampling of opinion in respect of specific schemes and projects embracing fair competition as a means of securing efficient, effective and economic services. The best value approach has continued to develop and evolve through the process of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), which focuses on the corporate and service performance of the authority, promising greater

17 POLICY FRAMEWORK 17 flexibility in return for performance improvement. An authority s approach to transport, contained in the Local Implementation Plan (LIP) and the Borough Spending Plan (BSP), features in both the corporate and service parts of the CPA. A key element of CPA is that all services should support the corporate objectives and priorities, and authorities should therefore: identify all areas of interaction of highway maintenance with each of the corporate objectives of the authority where these interactions provide opportunities for added value, these should be investigated and pursued wherever practicable where these interactions suggest possible conflicts, these should be investigated and arrangements put in place to resolve the differences. Increased focus on the needs of users and the community are explicit in national transport policy and their engagement is also a requirement of community strategies. In addition to consultations, this should also include information and publicity, and managing compliments, complaints and claims. The goal of best value to secure continuous improvement will only be effective in an organisation that is able to embrace change, encourage risk and innovation, and is able to learn from both its successes and failures. This principle applies irrespective of the procurement and service delivery arrangements, and all partners involved need to establish a common culture, values and methods of working. 2.6 STREET SCENE SERVICES BEST VALUE REVIEW The Borough s Best Value Review Programme included a Street Scene Services Review completed in The Council wished to develop a review to deal comprehensively with how the authority manages street scene services, rather than conducting a series of reviews at departmental and individual service level. Accordingly, this review was cross-cutting and covered services across three departments incorporating street cleansing, domestic refuse collection, graffiti and fly posting, recycling, dog fouling, fly tipping, street markets, gully cleansing and drainage, skip service, public toilets, trade waste, street lighting, carriageway and footway maintenance, street furniture and signage, abandoned vehicles, enforcement and customer service. STREETSMART Towards streets that are well-designed and well-engineered VO L U M E O N E The aims of the review were to: improve the appearance of all public areas and raise their amenity value raise the standards of street cleansing, graffiti removal, waste collection and recycling improve pavements, roads and street lighting, and develop a safer urban environment. Through the 4C s of challenge, compare, consult and compete the review was undertaken over a period of 18 months with the following objectives: to review the policies underlying the provision of the services to review whether these policies are still relevant to the services now required

18 18 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N to consult with the community of service users on their experiences, expectations, ideas and aspirations for the services to assess the competitiveness of the services and to ascertain whether the services are being provided as effectively as possible to compare our performance with others and benchmark whether quality or cost improvements could be delivered to assess whether changes to the way in which they are managed or delivered could bring about service improvements. Insofar as highway maintenance is concerned, the key findings were as follows: Challenge: 1. highways services were subject to external challenge on the development and comparison of service provision through participation with the London Technical Advisors Group (LoTAG) and the national Technical Advisors Group (TAG) Best Value Groups 2. although there is a shortfall in planned maintenance and the ability to deliver environmental improvements, the Borough is amongst the top performers in London in respect of dealing rapidly and effectively with health and safety footway maintenance 3. condition surveys have highlighted a backlog of major carriageway works 4. a major issue for both footways and carriageways is the continuous damage caused by private utility works 5. there is a need to unify the Council s housing estate roads with the publicly maintainable highways in regard to standards of inspection, maintenance and repair to ensure that the same level of quality and service is delivered 6. gully cleansing is affected both by the high-density parking leading to inconsistencies in the frequency of cleansing and leaf problems which need to be effectively targeted during the autumn and high rainfall periods Compare: 1. comparative data was gathered through the TAG and LoTAG Best Value Benchmarking Groups, the TAG Performance Framework Group and the LoTAG Benchmarking Club of Highways Professionals Fees 2. analysis undertaken of District Audit benchmarking 3. the authority is in the top quartile in terms of service delivery and asset management for carriageway maintenance 4. across London, Hammersmith and Fulham were the highest scoring authority in terms of routine highway maintenance and second for planned highway maintenance Consult: 1. extensive consultation was undertaken with a variety of stakeholders including residents, businesses, Council Officers and Members 2. internal consultation included a Challenge Away day and a series of cross departmental meetings 3. a special cross London MORI poll for highway maintenance concluded that Hammersmith and Fulham had the highest satisfaction rating for any authority Compete: 1. all contracts for service provision were exposed to competitive tendering under the Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) regime 2. the contracts were awarded with a mix of in house and external contractor provision 3. recent benchmarking has revealed no evidence for potential savings by retendering the services earlier than currently planned 4. the Highways Division became the only London Borough with Quality

19 POLICY FRAMEWORK 19 Assurance (QA) for the entire highways service and will become the first Borough in London to attain ISO 9001 / 2000 with emphasis on continuous improvement. The review considered that there were four main themes under which improvements to street scene services need to be targeted. These themes are: keeping our streets clean making our streets work the community s streets protecting our environment. The recommended improvements arising from the review were grouped under these themes and the timescales were defined in a five year action plan to ensure continuous improvement. In respect of footway and carriageway maintenance, the standards for maintenance across the different types of carriageways and footways in the borough are to be unified. A programme for the long term improvement of footways and carriageways will be developed through the targeting of the available budget on priority areas and through seeking additional funding for principal roads from the Mayor of London. An inspection and repair regime for housing estate roads together with an annual condition survey is to be developed. This will involve the establishment of a cross departmental team to assess the condition and maintenance needs of housing estate footways and carriageways as well as setting intervention levels for repair. A rationalisation of the management arrangements for winter maintenance and emergency repairs is also to be implemented and will include the development of a reactive repair service for emergencies. In respect of gully cleansing, a review is to be undertaken of the current arrangements for with increased targeting through more frequent cleansing of gullies which are susceptible to overflow and blockage. The review will also develop a replacement programme for gullies which are slow running due to design faults. This Street Scene Review was inspected by the Best Value Inspection Service of the Audit Commission and the Inspection Report was published in February The Council was assessed as providing a good two star service with promising prospects for improvement. One of the main reasons for scoring the service as good was that the maintenance of roads, footways and gullies appears to be operating well. Reasons for scoring the prospects for improvement as promising include: the review took into account the views of users the review action plan is extensive and sets performance targets for the next five years there is a clear commitment across the Council to deliver improvements to Street Scene Services. The majority of the five year action plan has now been implemented. The remaining actions are continually monitored and updated.

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21 SERVICE DELIVERY 21 3 SERVICE DELIVERY 3.1 BACKGROUND Following the introduction of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT), all white collar and blue collar services have been subject to competition under the CCT approved regime. In respect of white collar services, a wide range of professional services for highways were tendered in The winning tender awarded the Engineering Services contract in April 1996 was submitted by the in-house Highways Division. These services included street lighting, highway maintenance, traffic and parking management and projects and covered functions such as management, design, supervision and contract preparation and implementation. The CCT regime was abolished in 1999 to be replaced by the best value regime in April The Engineering Services contract terminated in 2001 during the Best Value Review of Street Scene Services. Taking into account that there was no evidence of the potential for significant savings by the Council for retendering immediately, the review concluded that a comprehensive procurement strategy should be developed when the vehicle contract arrangements expired in As benchmarking indicated that the Highways Division was competitive with the private sector, the strategy developed was to strengthen the Highways Division through internal restructuring to respond to legislative changes, and in particular to the Traffic Management Act In addition, to address the nationwide shortage of skilled staff in the engineering field, a contract for professional support services to respond to peaks in workload was essential. This contract was awarded to Opus International Consultants (UK) Ltd in June 2005 for an initial period of three years, with the option of annual extensions for a maximum period of a further two years to In regard to blue collar services, works contracts were subject to the CCT regime for many years. Under this regime, there were three term contracts, two of which were for Major Surfacing Works and Term Highway Works. There were overlaps in these contracts as the policy was to ensure that there were always two contractors available to carry out any one type of work. The other term contracts were for sewer connections and gully repairs, road markings, streetlights and road signs and the removal of graffiti. These contracts have been continued under the best value regime although revised to take account of best value and continuous improvement. The current arrangements are as follows: Term Contract for Highway Works Borough Highways Term Contract for Major and Minor Highway Surfacing Works Colas Ltd Term Contract for Sewer Connections and Gully Repairs FM Conway Ltd Term Contract for Public Lighting and Road Signs Borough Highways Lighting Services Term Contract for Road Marking and Associated Work Wilson and Scott (Highways) ltd.

22 22 HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE M A N A G E M E N T P L A N Borough Highways is the in-house Direct Service Organisation (DSO). With the exception of the Road Marking contract all contracts have the option of annual extensions for a maximum period of two further years to Although all contracts are tendered in accordance with European Directives, the Council is committed to maintaining an in-house service. 3.2 CLIENT MANAGEMENT Following the expiration of the Engineering Services contract in 2001, significant changes have been made to soften the client/consultant split such that the Highways and Engineering Division acts in the manner of a traditional council highways department. The Division comprises the following three Groups: Engineering Projects Highway Projects Network Management. The Engineering Projects Group is responsible for engineering projects, traffic and development, traffic, road safety, streetscape and quality management. The Highway Projects Group is responsible for land and asset survey, arboriculture, highway maintenance, highway strategy, insurance and performance, structures and private works, graphics and street lighting. The Network Management Group is responsible for street works coordination, traffic orders, traffic surveys, special events and enforcement. The highway maintenance function is the responsibility of the Highway Projects Group and it covers planned and general maintenance of all roads and footways within the borough. The Highway Maintenance team manages the regular inspections of these roads to ensure that the condition and associated road markings are maintained to a safe standard. The Highway Strategy, Insurance and Performance team is responsible for developing strategies to maintain and renew highway assets. Major tasks include: preparation of road and footway planned maintenance programmes management of highway insurance claims preparation and letting of highway maintenance term contracts annual updating of winter service policy and procedures quarterly monitoring and reporting of highway best value performance indicators delivery of a range of highway asset management initiatives. The Structures and Private Works team is responsible for implementing vehicle crossovers for residents ensuring adequate strengthening of the footway for vehicular access to private driveways. In addition, the team is responsible for implementing new drainage connections. The Street Lighting team undertakes responsibility for gully cleansing operations of all highways and subways. In addition, the team also monitors and maintains road markings in order to ensure that clear and safe guidance is provided for all road users, and that all traffic regulations can be enforced. Within the Network Management Group, the Street Works Co-ordination team is responsible for the co-ordination, monitoring and control of works carried out by statutory companies.