Pothole Fund Application Form
Guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pothole-fund2014-to-2015-application
Only one application form should be completed per local highway authority.
Applicant Information
Local authority name: Oxfordshire County Council
Bid Manager Name and position: Steve Smith – Service Manager Network and
Asset Management.
Name and position of officer with day to day responsibility for delivering the proposed
scheme.
Contact telephone number:
01865 810 435
Email address:
steve.smith@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Postal address:
Speedwell House
Speedwell Street
Oxford
OX1 1NE
When authorities submit a bid for funding to the Department, as part of the
Government’s commitment to greater openness in the public sector under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations
2004, they must also publish a version excluding any commercially sensitive
information on their own website within two working days of submitting the final bid to
the Department. The Department reserves the right to deem the business case as
non-compliant if this is not adhered to.
Please specify the weblink where this bid will be published:
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/pothole-fund-application
SECTION A – Your Highway
The Department would like to understand more about the highway assets that
fall under your statutory duties.
We already collect data from your authority in regards to road lengths but we
would like to understand more about the other assets you are responsible for.
Please answer the following in your application:
A1: What is the number of bridges owned by your authority with span over 1.5
metres? 1094
A2: What is the total number of street lighting columns under your authority’s
responsibility? 59,600
A3: What is the total number of street lighting columns under your authority’s
responsibility over 40 years old? 2042
A4: What is the total length of footways under the responsibility of your
authority (in miles)? 1969
A5: What is the total length of off road cycleways under the responsibility of
your authority (in miles)? 147 Miles
A6: Please provide a web link to your authority’s statement of how the flood
recovery funding, awarded in March 2014, has/will be spent:
The amount of grant received comprises two elements: £1,754,917 capital and
£3,027,232 revenue to address more general deterioration to the local road network
caused by the adverse weather. The council intends to spend the money on
embankment stabilisation and monitoring, drainage schemes, carriageway
resurfacing, carriageway edge strengthening, patching and bridge maintenance. This
is in addition to the £22million structural maintenance and major schemes
programme already in place for 2014/15.
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/news/2014/may/severe-weather-recoveryfunding-highways
SECTION B – Potholes
B1: Which of the recommendations arising from the Pothole Review Report has
your authority adopted?
The report can be viewed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3
995/pothole-review.pdf?
Please answer the following, including providing supporting information, where
applicable:
Question
A. Has your authority
aligned its
maintenance
programme to the
Government’s
highways
maintenance funding
years (i.e. 2011-2015
and 2015-2021)?
B. Has your authority
adopted the principle
that ‘prevention is
better than cure’ in
determining the
balance between
structural,
preventative and
reactive maintenance
activities in order to
improve the
resilience of the
highway network and
to minimise the
occurrence of
potholes in the
future?
Yes/
No
All ‘yes’ answers must be supported
evidence.
Please append supporting information,
clearly marking the question number to
which the information refers.
Last capital Programme data.
Yes
No
Yes
No
The County Council has adopted an Asset
Management Plan approach to preventative
maintenance, which has the support of elected
members. This approach advocates affording
the higher priority to roads before they
deteriorate and become more expensive to
repair. The Council currently reviewing its Asset
Management Plan and has adopted the
principles of the HMEP sponsored by the
Department for Transport in the development of
its HAMP. The revised document has recently
(19 May 2014) been given the endorsement of
an elected member working group and approved
its progression to the Traffic Advisory Panel on
12 June 2014 and onward to cabinet for final
endorsement. The HAMP will then be cascaded
to the 9 Locality Meetings to disseminate the
principles of the plan. The council has been one
of the early adopters of the HMEP Strategic
Review and is engaged in reviews of other
authorities.
The highways management partnership
between OCC and Skanska enables the
opportunity to explore innovative approaches to
maintenance, balancing the reactive
maintenance with proactive actions to areas that
would not normally be dealt with. This approach
not only ensures safety but ensures that there is
a proactive strategy to increase the asset
lifespan.
Dates Of Locality Meetings
Woodstock and Chipping Norton
Thame, Wheatley, Watlington
Didcot
Oxford City
Faringdon and Wantage
Abingdon
Carterton, Burford, Witney
Banbury
Bicester and Kidlington
C. Has your authority
ensured that
appropriate
competencies have
been made available
to make the right
choices when
designing and
specifying
techniques and
materials for the
maintenance and
repair of highways?
Note - these
competencies can be
secured through
training,
collaboration with
neighbouring
authorities or
external advice.
Yes
No
30 June
4 July
7 July
7 July
8 July
8 July
11 July
14 July
14 July
The Council manages it highways maintenance
programmes through the partnership with
Skanska. The partnership seeks to introduce
innovative approaches that are available both
nationally and internationally to ensure that the
most cost effective and efficient solutions are
provided. This is aided by close working with an
extensive supply chain and industry bodies to
ensure OCC as an authority is utilising industry,
national and international best practice to
maintain the highway network to a sufficient
standard under increasing financial pressures.
OCC engages with ADEPT (Association Of
Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning
and Transport), SEASIG Customer Focus Group
and is a member of the Midlands Highways
Alliance.
Highway maintenance schemes are designed on
a “Whole Life Cost” basis to ensure specified
features provide value for money and resilience.
Testing is performed to ensure fitness for
purpose
As mentioned previously, the council has
engaged in the Peer Review process as part of
HMEP.
D. Does your authority
co-ordinate with
other parties working
on the highway short
and long term
programmes of work
activities for up to
four years in
advance?
E. Has your authority
considered the
guidance provided in
the ADEPT report
Potholes and Repair
Techniques for Local
Highways and
adopted as
appropriate to your
local circumstances?
Yes
HAUC meetings undertaken monthly to enable
proactive coordination with utilities.
No
Yes
No
OCC in partnership with Skanska look to ensure
that the findings of the ADEPT review are, where
possible, followed and adopted. The partnership
work closely to ensure that the right techniques
and materials are used in the relevant conditions
to provide a good, resilient and cost effective
solution. These techniques range from standard
hot material permanent repairs, propriety cold
lay materials in specific circumstances to
innovative high volume repair solutions where
circumstances allow.
To ensure that ‘Right first time delivery’ can be
achieved Skanska provide robust training of all
of their staff and sub-contractors which has built
in a pride in patch ethos that drives quality
performance and delivery. This approach closely
aligns with the recommendations of the ADEPT
review.
As a partnership OCC and Skanska carry out
joint audits of the workmanship, adopting a
‘cradle to grave’ approach which explores the
quality and consistency of all stages of the
defect repair process. This helps identify any
areas that fall below the expected standards and
allows the introduction of effective action plans
to resolve any issues and drives a culture of
continuous improvement.
F. Has your authority
developed a detailed
highway inspection
manual and have put
appropriate training
in place for your
Highway Inspectors?
Yes
No
The Inspectors are trained and in possession of
current certification that confirms they have been
trained and reach the required standards. The
training of the inspectors is delivered by the
Skills Training Centre.
As part of the training inspectors are given a
copy of the Council’s “The Little Book Of
Highway Defects” (link provided at Question H
below). This book is issued to highways staff,
operatives and councillors and is available to the
public via a web link. It explains OCC’s approach
to defect management;. A number of other local
authorities have requested copies of the book as
an example of best practice.
G. Does your authority
use technology and
systems for the
effective
identification and
management of
potholes?
Yes
No
The highways partnership between OCC and
Skanska is continually striving to improve
through the effective use of technology to
identify and manage potholes. Using advanced
technology assists with the accuracy of
locations, photographs of the pothole and this
enables robust planning and delivery. OCC have
just invested in a suite of Panasonic
Toughbook’s that have been rolled out to all
Statutory Inspectors and Local Highway
Representatives and assist in recording and
repair of Potholes reported by the public and
those identified during statutory inspections.
Accuracy of the data input both qualitative and
quantitive is a key factor as the Panasonic
Toughbook’s link into the EXOR system which
then automatically passes over to the Skanska
IT systems to prioritise and programme the
required response. The data transfers on to
Skanska hand held devices that the highways
gangs use to locate the site, repair the pothole
and photograph the repair. The information is
then automatically updated in EXOR when
completed.
There is an end to end technological solution in
place in Oxfordshire that is constantly monitored
and reviewed by the partnership to ensure the
optimum solution is in place and working
effectively.
H. Does your authority
have a public
communications
process in place that
provides clarity and
transparency in the
policy and approach
to repairing
potholes? This
should include a
published policy and
details of its
Yes
No
The OCC web site offers Fix my Street, which
provides the public with access to report faults
direct to the Council. OCC have worked closely
with MySociety to enable the system to be
embedded in the Councils web pages and for
the system to be linked to EXOR to allow
progress updates etc. to be generated for the
public.
http://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk/
To help the public with determining what kind of
implementation,
including the
prevention,
identification,
reporting, tracking
and repair of
potholes.
fault they can report, the website also offers
access to the Council’s “Little Book Of Highway
Defects”
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default
/files/folders/documents/roadsandtransport/trans
portpoliciesandplans/highwaymanagementpolic
y/thelittlebookhighwaydefects.pdf
Link to policies.
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/high
way-management-policy
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default
/files/folders/documents/roadsandtransport/trans
portpoliciesandplans/highwaymanagementpolic
y/highwaysafetyinspectionpolicy10feb2011.pdf
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default
/files/folders/documents/roadsandtransport/trans
portpoliciesandplans/highwaymanagementpolic
y/highwaysafetyinspectionpolicyreport10feb201
1.pdf
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default
/files/folders/documents/roadsandtransport/trans
portpoliciesandplans/highwaymanagementpolic
y/thelittlebookhighwaydefects.pdf
I. Does your authority
monitor public
Yes
satisfaction with
road, footway and
No
cycleway condition
and report annually
through the National
Highways and
Transport Public
Satisfaction Survey
or their own surveys?
The Council’s Highways Asset Manager
currently sits on the National Highways and
Transport Steering Group as the representative
for the South East Counties. It is this group that
establishes the questions that are used to
formulate the public consultation document.
J. Does your authority
adopt permanent
repairs as the first
choice when
repairing potholes?
The partnership between OCC and Skanska has
adopted a policy to repair potholes permanently
first time.
Yes
The Council subscribes and contributes to
national consultation framework and publishes
the results on its website. The results enable
anyone to benchmark the authority’s
performance against other participating councils
No
Extract from Highway Safety Inspections Policy,
pages 5&6
“In general a permanent repair is preferred to
rectify the defect, but in some instances this will
not be possible. If a temporary repair is made,
then the timescale allowed for a permanent
repair is extended to the next response interval.
However it will not be acceptable to leave an
urgent defect with signing and guarding (i.e. an
immediate “make safe” response) for 28 days
without permanent repair.
With regard to this policy, a permanent repair is
a repair that conforms to good practice and is fit
for purpose (a service life in excess of 2 years
from completion date irrespective of adverse
weather and/or traffic).”
Pages 4 and 5 of Council’s policy for Highway
Safety Inspections refers
K. Has your authority
adopted dimensional
definitions for
potholes based on
best practice as part
of its maintenance
policy?
Yes
No
Annex B of the Council’s policy for Highway
Safety Inspections list investigatory levels for
numerous types of defect. These are considered
alongside the risk they present at each individual
location and act as a trigger for maintenance.
Page 11 of the Council’s “The Little Book Of
Highway Defects” gives definitions of defects,
including potholes, for inspectors, Councillors
and the public. These definitions are supported
by photographic examples throughout the book.
B2: Does your authority adopt any innovative methods to help repair potholes?
This could include, for example, specialist pothole maintenance crews.
Yes
No
If yes, please provide details as an annex as part of your bid.
Skanska are currently trialling the Schmidt Jet Patcher which provides a mobile whole
life solution to pothole repairs and minimises disruption to the motorists and public. A
video link is provided here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3-Uq-NoSVk
The Council also has fast response teams to react to urgent defects and allow other
gangs to plan their work in the most efficient manner.
B3: Does your authority use reporting tools to identify potholes in your local
area including:
CTC Fill that Hole
Yes
No
Council’s Own Web Reporting
Yes
No
Other
Yes
No
Please specify: OCC’s website, which affords links to District Councils websites, and
Fix My Street (Oxfordshire) plus the national Fix My Street website. Other reporting
systems will send a message to OCC which we will then deal with but the lack of
ability to “close the loop” with these systems means they introduce inefficiencies into
the system.
Also please see Question H
B4: Does your authority regularly consult and seek feedback on its highways
maintenance regime, including potholes, with key stakeholders?
Local Member(s) of Parliament
District, Borough and Parish Councils
Local Residents
(Including neighbourhood Forums)
Business Community
Emergency Services
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
If yes, please provide details as an annex as part of your bid.
Highway maintenance service levels are currently being reviewed for incorporation
into the HAMP, (please refer to Question B) which describe the level of consultation
to date. OCC also gathers data from the public consultation undertaken by the NHT
survey.
The Council consults indirectly with its local Members of Parliament mainly where
large schemes are planned; they are not consulted routinely on general maintenance
schemes.
B5: Does your authority have an up-to-date vision and action plan to improve
the walking environment and encourage walking?
Yes
No
If yes, please provide a web link:
OCC have a chapter in LTP3 2011-2030 (adopted in 2011) on Walking, Cycling and
Rights of way (Chapter 12), which contains general policies and approach. Each of
the area strategies for Oxford, the larger and smaller towns, (Chapters 13-25) contain
policies relating to walking, including improving the pedestrian environment,
improving walking routes, ensuring new developments are designed to promote
permeability on foot, and ensuring urban footways join up with rights of way and rural
footpaths. These can be accessed at:
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/local-transport-plan-2011-2030
We are currently working on a new LTP, for adoption next summer. This will be
stronger on walking because we are proposing to include a new high level objective
about encouraging physical activity through active travel. OCC is keen that the
updated area strategies for the main towns contain more detailed improvement about
proposed walking network improvements and schemes – we anticipate this will assist
us in getting developer funding for off-site improvements.
B6: Please explain how you deliver your duty under NRSWA to ‘co-ordinate the
execution of works of all kinds’, including for example permit schemes,
noticing, co-ordination meetings?
The County adopts a Network Management Plan. The Council vigorously
encourages notification of all works and monitors adherence of all parties including
itself. The Council holds regular coordination meetings to encourage proactive
coordination and joint working where feasible. The Council uses Roadworks.org as
one of its co-ordination tools.
Network
Management Plan 2009.pdf
B7: What actions does your authority take to ensure road repairs undertaken
by other parties (such as utilities companies) meet the standards in the
specification?
Inspections regime
Scoring programme
Performance bench-marking
Meetings
Other (please specify)
Joint inspections with NRSWA staff, utilities, Councils contractor and HSE, in addition
to the regular inspection regime, to ensure an enhanced understanding of
requirements and share of good practice in the County.
Network
Management Plan 2009.pdf
SECTION C – Asset Management
C1: Has your authority adopted the recommendations arising from the Asset
Management Strategy Guidance published in May 2013 –
Yes
No
Please answer the following, including providing supporting information, where
applicable.
http://www.ukroadsliaisongroup.org/en/utilities/documentsummary.cfm?docid=5C49F48E-1CE0-477F-933ACBFA169AF8CB ?
Link to Old TAMP
http://portal.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content/publicnet/council_services/roads_transport/pla
ns_policies/transport_asset_management_plan/transportassetmanagementplan.pdf
New HAMP is in Development
Question
Has your authority got an up
to date asset management
policy and strategy?
Yes/No All ‘yes’ answers must be supported
evidence.
Yes
No
Please append supporting
information, clearly marking the
question number to which the
information refers.
If yes, please provide a weblink.
The County Council publishes all of its
current policies and strategies linked to
highway maintenance on the Councils
web sites. The Council is currently
updating its Asset Management Plan to
ensure it remains fit for purpose during
the current budget pressures and growth
in the County.
The previous plan was published in 2008
and based on previous Government
guidance and the weblink is provided
above. This document is currently going
through a rewrite and we recently agreed
the HAMP with a cross party member
working group and the new draft policy
and strategy documents have been
completed and are in the council’s
forward plan for review and formal
adoption by cabinet.
Does your authority
communicate relevant
information associated with
asset management through
engagement with your
relevant stakeholders when
you set requirements, make
decisions and report
performance?
Yes
No
The County hold regular locality
meetings within each of its 9 locality
members to inform of progress.
Performance is reported at a public
scrutiny meeting and to senior
management through a performance
challenge meeting
The Asset Management approach
formed a large part of the presentation to
Members last year during the budget
preparation process.
Does your authority have an
asset management register?
Yes
No
The highways inventory is managed in a
number of software systems: Exor,
WDMPMS, Mayrise and Arbortrack. We
have recently carried out an extensive
data collection exercise to update our
records. The partnership with Skanska
requires inventory infrastructure to be
routinely updated.
The attached is an example screen shot
from our street lighting asset
management system.
Document1.docx
Does your authority follow
lifecycle planning principles
which are used to review the
level of funding and which will
help support investment
decisions including long term
investment in your assets?.
Yes
No
Highway maintenance schemes are
designed on a “Whole Life Cost” basis to
ensure specified features provide value
for money and resilience. Testing is
performed to ensure fitness for purpose.
Larger schemes and programmes follow
a corporate governance procedure to
obtain sign off for approvals and
gateways processes which have to meet
value for money criterion.
C2: As part of your last L-Pack return for Whole Government Accounting
requirements for the accounting period 2012/13, can you confirm you
submitted the following return:
Carriageway and Footways
Lighting
Structures
Street Furniture
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
SECTION D – Efficiencies
D1: Is your authority actively engaged with securing efficiencies for highways
maintenance?
Yes
No
If yes, please provide additional information on what your authority has done
since 2011 including what % efficiency savings (where efficiency savings are
defined as delivering a similar or a better outcome at a lower cost) your
authority has achieved year on year and what savings you hope to achieve by
end of 2014/15.
The contract with Skanska requires that there must be year on year improvements
leading to efficiencies. The Council also operates towards a medium term financial
plan. Since 2011 the council has realised 39% in savings whilst maintaining its
contract and other performance measures at the same level and has seen a small
increase in customer satisfaction through the NHT Survey.
D2: Is your authority exploring or has it already joined with neighbouring local
highway authorities or a Highways Maintenance Alliance to achieve economies
of scale?
Yes
No
If yes, please provide additional information. For example the names of other
authorities or the Alliance.
The Council has entered into discussions with the county councils of Gloucestershire
and Buckinghamshire to explore the collaborative working. OCC is also a member of
the Midlands Highway Alliance.
D3: Is your authority sharing its efficiency experience and/or case studies with
other local highway authorities via the Highways Maintenance Efficiency
Programme or other good practice networks?
Yes
If yes, please provide state where.
The County is an active member of HMEP and have received a peer review and
provided staff to undertake peer reviews of other authorities.
Work on the management of Coal Tar by OCC has been adopted by ADEPT as good
practice and is now used by a number of other authorities.
Mark Kemp, our Deputy Director, is a Peer Reviewer for the HMEP Strategic
Reviews.
SECTION E – Other
E1: Please provide details on which of the following good practice activities
your authority is undertaking for its highways management activities.
Invest to save
Cross boundary collaboration
Yes
Yes
No
No
The council has invested in data capture devices which will enable us to reduce the
number of inspectors on the network and associated vehicle/fuel costs and office
space that form part of the overheads associated with the delivery of the highway
service provision.
Cross Boundary collaboration was evidenced earlier in response to question D2 and
B1C….Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire collaboration.
Other (please specify):
E2: Do you consider your authority to be an exemplar authority in tackling
potholes and undertaking highway maintenance?
Yes
No
If yes, please explain why.
The council has adopted all best practice guidance, tested jet patching on rural roads
and brought in the Schmidt hot jet patcher from Sweden for the first time in this
country. It has adopted simple web reporting through Fix My Street and has adopted
many of the recommendations from the HMEP guidance documents and best
practice manuals. Attendance at HMEP conferences, peer reviews and adoption of
recommendations and action plans has been made. Recycling and waste treatment
and disposal as well as innovative “rubblisation techniques are all trialled or being
trialled.
If yes, would your authority be willing to share its experiences more widely
with other authorities / organisations?
Yes
No
SECTION F: Declarations
F1. Senior Responsible Owner Declaration
As Senior Responsible Owner for Oxfordshire County Council Pothole Fund
Application 2014 I hereby submit this request for approval to DfT on behalf of
Oxfordshire County Council and confirm that I have the necessary authority to do so.
I confirm that Oxfordshire County Council will have all the necessary statutory
powers in place to ensure the planned timescales in the application can be realised.
Name: Mark J Kemp
Signed:
Position: Deputy Director - Commercial