Agenda item

Mr Edser, Director of Highways and Transportation reported that the Barnet Highways Infrastructure Safety Inspection Manual is a key guide for Barnet staff and the new contractor. It outlines intervention levels and is the main guide that highways inspectors operate to. The manual had last been reviewed in 2013 and changes had been made to the risk and asset management framework as part of the Network Recovery Plan since that time, so it was felt it would be timely to review this.

Mr Ataie noted that currently the Barnet policy on intervention is 25mm on footways and 40mm on carriageways and the manual outlines the criteria for monitor or repair. The new manual maintains the same intervention levels.

Cllr Cornelius reported that some zebra crossings and junctions were barely noticeable due to faded markings. Mr Mee reported that a lot of these would be repaired by the new contractor, and a portion of the 2022-23 budget had been set aside for this. The optimal time to carry this out is May-September. Cllr Cornelius noted that she had attended site visits with Dane McKnight, Member Liaison Officer to point out specific problem areas. Mr Edser would contact Mr McKnight to pick these up.

Action: Mr Edser

Cllr Cooke requested assurance that the cost of damage caused by developers would be picked up by them. The Chairman responded that a report was due to be presented at Environment Committee on this and would be added to the Forward Plan.

Action: Governance Officer

Cllr Jajeh enquired what would happen if the work isn’t completed within budget. Mr Mee noted that the work is covered under the NRP budget and that using the asset management approach there should be stability, as planned maintenance reduces the amount of reactive work needed.

Cllr Jajeh asked how Tarmac Kier would continue to be incentivised to meet targets. Mr Edser responded that currently the contractor is meeting the criteria in the KPIs and there are mechanisms to incentivise the contractor to perform. He would bring a report back to the Committee on their performance, and a report would also go to the next Financial Performance and Contracts Committee.

Action: Mr Edser

Cllr Jajeh requested that future reports show data more clearly, for example in the colour-coded section in the Operational Hierarchy Review document on page 198 the colours are not clear.

Action: Mr Edser, Mr Ataie

Mr Mee reported that the Chairman had recently signed a Charter for utility companies to work together with the council, the first time this had been done in a London Borough. Utility companies had been enthusiastic about signing up.

Cllr Schneiderman asked why so few potholes are being picked up despite ongoing review, and why residents and Members were asked to report them. Mr Mee responded that potholes could appear overnight so it was helpful to have additional reporting from residents so that they could be dealt with quickly. Inspectors would also pick them up but had fewer opportunities to discover them immediately. He stressed that residents must take care to remain safe and must never enter the carriageway to try to measure potholes.

Cllr Schneiderman asked for an explanation of Recommendation 2 in the report and whether policy changes would be delegated to officers. Mr Ataie responded that this does not include policy changes and is intended to allow flexibility to make minor changes to the network hierarchy.

The Chairman moved to the vote on the officer’s recommendations, which were unanimously APPROVED.

It was RESOLVED:

1.    that the Committee approved the 2022 LBB Highway Infrastructure Safety Inspection Manual (HISIM) as part of the Authority’s overall Highway Infrastructure Asset Management system.

2.    that the Committee delegated authority to the Executive Director for Environment to review the Operational Network Hierarchy as required, in consultation with the Chairman of the Environment Committee, to ensure a risk-based approach to highway safety inspection is maintained.