County Council Highways savings enable more roads to be resurfaced

Savings made by Derbyshire County Council’s highways department have been ploughed back into the budget, which will mean more roads will be resurfaced.

So far this financial year money has been saved on buying external work more cheaply. The county council recently set up a program delivery office to manage work in a more efficient way, and this new team are putting both the larger highways jobs, and many smaller ones through competitive tendering exercises.

As a result the price for many jobs have been coming in under what they had been estimated to cost. These savings have been ploughed back into the service and have funded a £3m councillor led program. All councillors were asked to suggest two roads that most needed resurfacing in their area. Officers are currently looking at all the suggestions and a list of which roads will be resurfaced will be agreed and published later this year.

In addition, money has been saved by new ways of working identified by the council’s in-house laboratory team.

Rather than assume all waste dug out of the road for the surface dressing patching works contains hazardous waste, the council is now testing the waste first to understand exactly what’s in it. If it does not contain coal tar, the waste can be disposed of in a more cost effective way, with potential savings of up to £250,000.

The amount of money paid out in compensation for damage to vehicles caused by potholes has been reduced. The final figure at the end of the financial year is likely to be £1m less than the previous year. Fewer potholes ultimately means fewer claims for damages.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Potholes, Highways and Transport, Councillor Charlotte Hill, said: “Being more careful with the money we have available means we can do more work on the roads, and really improve them for those who use them.

“We are now looking at the roads suggested by local councillors and will resurface as many of them as we can for the money we have available.

“This, in addition to the £70m capital programme we have agreed recently, will mean that we really are about to make a step change in the condition of Derbyshire’s roads.”