Moving Britain Ahead: Tackling Potholes and Improving Road Maintenance

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://cephas.cephaspublicpolicy.co.uk/9-moving-britain-ahead-tackling-potholes-and-improving-road-maintenance#sigProId04186adc86

Event Report

Our Charity Partner:

Brake

Brake is a national road safety charity, founded in 1995, that exists to stop the needless deaths and serious injuries that happen on roads every day, make streets and communities safer for everyone, and care for families bereaved and injured in road crashes. Brake promotes road safety awareness, safe and sustainable road use, and effective road safety policies. We do this through national campaigns, community education, services for road safety professionals and employers, and by coordinating the UK's flagship road safety event every November, Road Safety Week. Brake is a national, government-funded provider of support to families and individuals devastated by road death and serious injury, including through a helpline and support packs.

https://www.brake.org.uk/

Outline

Earlier this year, councils warned 2017 could be a ‘tipping point year for Potholes’.

According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance's (AIA) annual ALARM roads survey 2017, local authorities will need more than £12 billion to successfully upgrade the network and arrest the decline of our local roads.

In response, the Local Government Association (LGA) praised councils efforts in being able to efficiently fix a pothole every 19 seconds in 2016, but highlighted the decreasing funding pot available to local authorities, believing our roads crisis will worsen unless it is addressed as a national priority.

In January this year, councils across England were informed by government of their share of the £1.2 billion local roads funding to improve roads, cut congestion and improve journey times. This included money from the National Productivity Investment Fund announced in the Autumn Statement and the Pothole Action Fund. In addition, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced trials with Thurrock and York Councils on a pothole-spotter system.

This timely Cephas Public Policy Communications symposium provides an invaluable opportunity for key staff who work at all levels across local authority highway departments and teams, management professionals, road user groups and other key stakeholders to discuss the latest government thinking on tackling potholes. The symposium will also examine the wider impact on jobs, businesses and economic benefits gained from a more robust and resilient local road network.

Order of the Day

09:15 Registration and Morning Refreshments

10:15 Chairs Introduction

10:30 Morning Presentations

Tackling potholes and improving road maintenance

Review the key findings of the AIA annual ALARM roads survey 2017 including structural road conditions and road surfacing frequency
Consider the reactive versus planned approach towards dealing with potholes and road maintenance
Identifying road surface problems – understanding the pothole-spotter system and its ability to reduce the number of potholes
Consider how motorists are affected by pothole-related breakdowns and the resulting challenges faced by local authorities in managing road user compensation claims
Share best practice and efficiency ideas on how to meet the challenge of the pothole repair bill projected to rise to approximately £14 billion by 2019

11:30 Morning Coffee Break

11:45 Open Floor Deliberation and Debate

12:45 Networking Lunch

13:30 Afternoon Presentations

Transport measures to support local economies

Funding to improve roads – review the £1.2 billion for the 2017 to 2018 financial year funding allocations from government to councils and whether this is leading to improved roads, less congestion and better journey times
Assess the different levels of investment between the local and strategic road networks and the benefits of increasing spend on the local roads network
London Case Study: Raising the profile and importance of highway maintenance and its funding shortfall
Discuss the impact on road surfaces from heavier lorries and adverse weather conditions
The case for roads spending – a user-perspective on the changing demands arising from new technologies

14:30 Afternoon Coffee Break

14:45 Open Floor Deliberation and Debate

15:45 Chair’s Closing Remarks and Networking Reception

16:30 Close

Who Should Attend?

•   Local Authorities
•   Local Highway Authorities
•   Local Authority Road Maintenance Professionals
•   Local Authority Highway Maintenance Engineers and Managers
•   Highway Maintenance Leads
•   Technical Services Professionals
•   Technical Advisers Groups
•   Environmental Services
•   Planning, Transportation and Engineering Personnel
•   Road Management Professionals
•   Road Safety Professionals
•   Road Policing Professionals
•   Traffic Management Personnel
•   Economy Professionals
•   Surveyors
•   Sustainable Travel Managers
•   Community Transport Services
•   Rural Transport Groups
•   Transport Advisory Groups
•   Materials Engineers
•   Specialist Contractors
•   Lead, Principle and Independent Consultants
•   Utility Companies
•   National Highways & Transport Network Personnel
•   Road Haulage Organisations
•   Goods Vehicle Operators
•   Transport Managers
•   Emergency Service Professionals
•   Traffic Signs and Signalling Providers
•   Transport, Access and Safety Leads
•   Operational Service Planning Managers
•   Transport Planning & Review Officers
•   Highway Network Managers
•   Traffic and Design Managers
•   Vehicle Recovery Operators
•   Motoring Services
•   Civil Enforcement Officers
•   Bus and Coach Operators
•   Emergency Service Professionals
•   Cyclists’ Interest Groups and Clubs
•   Road Surface Organisations and Associations
•   Public Service Transport Operators
•   Third Sector (Charities/Voluntary Organisations/Social Enterprises)
•   Trade Associations/Unions
•   Special Interest Groups
•   Freight Transport Organisations
•   Pavement Management Organisations
•   Relevant Central Government Departments
•   Academics
•   Private Sector

Event Properties

Event Date	19-09-2017 9:30 am
Event End Date	19-09-2017 4:30 pm
Location	Broadway House, Westminster Broadway House Broadway House, Westminster

Speakers:

Satbir Gill, Chairman, Local Government Technical Advisers Group, Network Manager, Hounslow Highways
Steve Berry OBE, Head of Highways Maintenance, Innovation, Resilience, Light Rail and Cableways, Department for Transport
Geoff Allister OBE, Executive Director, Highways Term Maintenance Association (HTMA)
Councillor Brian Little, Thurrock Council, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation
Steve Gooding, Director, RAC Foundation
Owen Jenkins, Director for Infrastructure Delivery, Oxfordshire County Council
Malcolm Simms, Director, Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA)
Garry Sterritt, Head of Asset Investment, Transport for London
Howard Cooke, Chairman, Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA)

Background Context

“Roads play a significant part in everyday life linking people with jobs and businesses with customers, which is why this government is investing record amounts improving and maintaining highways across the country to help motorists.
“The funding we have allocated today is focused on relieving congestion and providing important upgrades to ensure our roads are fit for the future - helping to build an economy that works for everyone.”
Transport Minister Andrew Jones, 13 January 2017

"It is becoming increasingly urgent to address the roads crisis we face as a nation. Our roads are deteriorating at a faster rate than can be repaired and it would take more than £12 billion and be 2030 before we could bring them up to scratch and clear the current roads repair backlog.
"…Councils are proving remarkably efficient in how they use this diminishing funding pot but they remain trapped in a frustrating cycle that will only ever leave them able to patch up our deteriorating roads…”
Cllr Judith Blake, Transport spokesperson at the Local Government Association, 28th March 2017