Item 8 - Roads Asset Management Plan 2025-30
West Dunbartonshire Council · 5 February 2025
Back to Infrastructure, Regeneration & Economic Development Committee — 5 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer Roads and Neighbourhood Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development 5 February 2025 Subject: Roads Asset Management Plan 2025-30 1. Purpose 1.1 West Dunbartonshire Council as the “Roads Authority” has a responsibility to ensure that assets are managed in a strategic manner so that they enhance and improve service delivery, that the asset base is aligned to the organisation’s corporate goals and objectives and that they are managed in an active, effective and efficient manner. 1.2 The Roads Service have updated their Roads Asset Management Plan to reflect the current level of investment and the impacts those investments will have on the overall asset condition. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: a) Notes the contents of this report; and b) Approves the adoption of the Roads Asset Management Plan for 2025-30 3. Background 3.1 West Dunbartonshire Council’s Strategic Plan identifies the aims and objectives for the Council. The Roads Asset Management Plan (RAMP) directly links to the outcomes of the Council’s Strategic Plan 2022-27. 3.2 The targets and strategies within the RAMP are used to develop annual works programmes, based on the roads budget allocation, that support the outcomes highlighted within the Strategic Plan 3.3 The Roads Asset Management Plan (RAMP) sets out plans for all the Roads assets for the period 2025 to 2030 to align with the Councils Capital and Revenue investment programme. ITEM 8
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3.4 The purpose of the RAMP is to formalise the strategies for investment in roads assets, define service standards and devise an organised plan which accounts for the roads assets and money spent on them facilitating efficient and effective investment. 3.5 The Roads assets consist of the following: Carriageways 389.4km Footways, footpaths and cycleways 717.3km Structures 118 Street Lighting 16452 Traffic Management systems 110 Street Furniture 25000 (Approximately) Table 1 – Roads Assets 3.6 This plan is based upon currently available inventory data for Road assets, i.e. carriageway, footway, structures, street lighting, traffic signals and street furniture. For some minor Road assets inventory data is not currently held, however an attempt has been made to incorporate these assets within this plan using local estimates and sample surveys. 4. Main Issues 4.1 The current satisfaction level with our customers in relation to our road condition is at an all-time low with our current satisfaction rating sitting at 22%. 4.2 Whilst the satisfaction survey shows a low percentage satisfaction rate for the road condition, in reviewing our Road Condition Index (RCI) scores against those available for all other 32 local authorities our ratings are quite high with West Dunbartonshire placing 5th for overall RCI scores. A breakdown of our score against national position is provided below: Road Classification RCI Score National Rating A Class 19.2 5th B Class 19.9 6th C Class 23.3 2nd Unclassified 30.2 7th Overall Network 27.9 7th 4.3 The Roads and Transportation team has been working with our Performance team to undertake additional investigations into the reason behind this. 4.4 Full details of the results are included within the Plan however our customers main concerns would appear to surround the overall condition of our roads and footways, and the volume of potholes recorded.
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4.5 The current budget pressures are impacting on the service the council can deliver and it is therefore important that the service adopts an approach which makes best use of the funding available and addresses the concerns of our customers as much as possible. 4.6 In the longer term the roads asset management plan will allow West Dunbartonshire Council to minimise whole life costs and maximise value for money which is essential given current funding available. It will allow the effect of these budgets to be quantified in terms of deterioration of the asset or reduction in service levels and help identify where spend will maximise value for money, whilst considering the risks and benefits. 4.7 Developed lifecycle plans for the roads infrastructure has identified that; 27% of our carriageways are in need of repair 18% of our footways are in need of repair 30% of our street lighting apparatus is in need of replacement 4.8 In addition to the above deterioration value, through the SCOTS Roads Asset Management Group, various asset condition and cost projection tools have been developed. These tools allow us to predict the effect the current level of investment will have on the asset over the coming years. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications associated with this proposal. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 The existing plan has been developed in line with current Capital and Revenue funding levels. 6.2 Any future alterations to these levels may require the figures and assessments within the RAMP to be revised. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 There is a risk that with any reduction in investment and subsequent increase defects that the council may also see an increase in liability claims as a result of damage to vehicles/persons. 7.2 A lack in consistent and robust planning in respect of asset management could result in the Council being ill prepared to meet future demands in maintaining its assets These plans mitigate this risk by developing actions that will address potential risks.
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7.3 The aim of the Asset Management Strategies and their associated plans is to ensure that these matters are appropriately prioritised from a corporate perspective and the financial consequences in revenue and capital investments terms can be properly assessed 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 There will be likely positive impacts for some protected groups especially women and disabled people and younger and older people. Human Rights and health and social/economic areas may also benefit. 9. Consultation 9.1 Consultations were undertaken with customers through the corporate performance assessment process and incorporated into the plan. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 The asset infrastructure discussed in this report is fundamental in promoting social and economic regeneration within West Dunbartonshire. The introduction of the asset management plan will assist in the efficient management and maintenance of the assets and associated infrastructure. Best value will be achieved through making the most efficient use of available funding and a best practice approach to management and maintenance of the assets are all promoted through the introduction of the asset management plans. Chief Officer Gail Macfarlane Service Area Roads and Neighbourhood Date: 22 January 2025 Person to Contact: Liam Greene, Roads and Transport Manager, Liam.greene@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendix Roads Asset Management Plan Wards Affected: All wards