Issue - meetings

This report is in response to a petition submitted by the Strensall and Towthorpe Parish council dated 16 July 2008 and signed by 180 residents of the area. The petition expresses concern about the road surfaces of West End, Southfields Road, Princess Road and the Village, the inability of road gullies to deal with surface water during heavy rainfall and the lack of edge marking along Flaxton Road.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

(i)         That the Executive Member be advised to approve option 2  - to note and agree that officers arrange to make safe any defects that breach the Council’s intervention levels, monitor the condition of the roads and assess them, along with all the other highways on the provisional list, for a possible inclusion in a future years resurfacing and reconstruction [R&R] programme.  Additionally note and approve the current practice of only placing white road edge markings on hazardous sections of roads and that the road drainage system is working satisfactorily in York Road, Strensall, during normal rainfall conditions.

(ii)        That the lead petitioner be notified on the decision of the Advisory Panel.

Decision of the Executive Member

RESOLVED:             That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:                  To ensure works are carried out on a needs and worst first basis and ensure that highway maintenance budgets are expended in the most cost effective way, based on the Council’s priorities.

Members considered a report in response to a petition submitted by the Strensall and Towthorpe Parish Council dated 16 July 2008 and signed by 180 residents of the area. The petition expressed concern about the road surfaces of West End, Southfields Road, Princess Road and the Village, the inability of road gullies to deal with surface water during heavy rainfall and the lack of edge marking along Flaxton Road.

The report provided the following options for consideration

(i)      Option 1 - Members may ask officers to carry out a resurfacing/reconstruction scheme[s] from within our approved Advanced Design programme of works for 2009/10 (EMAP for City Strategy, 8^th December 2008) which would require removing one or more of the schemes, of equivalent value, from the approved programme.

(ii)     Option 2 - Members may note and agree that officers arrange to make safe any defects that breach the Council’s intervention levels, monitor the condition of the roads and assess them, along with all the other highways on the provisional list, for a possible inclusion in a future years resurfacing and reconstruction [R&R] programme.  Additionally note and approve the current practice of only placing white road edge markings on hazardous sections of roads and that the road drainage system is working satisfactorily in York Road, Strensall, during normal rainfall conditions.

The Head of Highway Infrastructure explained for the benefit of both Members and Mr Marquis, who had spoken under the Public Participation Scheme on the item, how decisions were taken on which roads would be repaired. He reported that roads were categorised between 1 – 3 and then a weighting factor applied in order to establish an overall ranking which was used to prioritise planned programmes of work for the year.

As regards the question of road markings on Flaxton Road, he advised that current practice was not to put edge markings on straight sections of rural roads but instead only on stretches where there is a hazard.

Members queried whether, if they agreed to undertake the works that the petition requested, this would result in other roads in a worse condition dropping down the list and officers confirmed this would be the case.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

(i)         That the Executive Member be advised to approve option 2.

(ii)        That the lead petitioner be notified on the decision of the Advisory Panel.

Decision of the Executive Member

RESOLVED:             That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:                  To ensure works are carried out on a needs and worst first basis and ensure that highway maintenance budgets are expended in the most cost effective way, based on the Council’s priorities.