Agenda item

The Panel will consider a presentation in respect of the Winter Maintenance Policy Review.

Contacts:
Mark Scar, Head of Highways

 

 

The Panel received a presentation on the Winter Maintenance Policy Review from Graham West, Service Director (Highways & Streetscene), Mark Scarr, Head of Highways and Nick Jenkin, Business Development Manager.

 

Councillor Will Simpson read a statement on behalf of Councillor Naheed Mather, Portfolio Holder - Environment in which she explained that the presentation reflected the considerations raised at a previous scrutiny meeting in September

 

2021 and highlighted where the policy or the supporting winter maintenance operational procedures had been updated to reflect those considerations.

 

Councillor Mather's statement advised that the presentation included the trialing of more volunteer groups to assist with snow clearance, the formalisation of the process for considering changes to existing winter maintenance routes and the formal confirmation of our resilient winter gritting network.

 

The statement informed the Panel that ensuring compliance with the Department for Transports Code of Practice for "Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure" had been a key consideration. Councillor Mather’s statement continued that officers believed the winter maintenance policy to be fit for purpose, albeit with some minor adjustments.

 

Councillor Mather concluded that she was supportive of the proposals and the minor updates to the policy proposed by the service.

 

Mr Scarr shared the presentation and provided an overview of the winter maintenance policy and the work of an officer Highways Working Group established to undertake the required review as follows:

 

•   The budget for winter maintenance had been increased from £1.2m to £1.Sm in 2021/22.

•   The comparison gritting lengths, treatments times and grit bin provision for the West Yorkshire area.

•   Kirklees had the shortest treatment time (on par with Leeds Council) •

•   Kirklees gritted a higher percentage of the carriageway network.

•   Kirklees had the highest number of grit bins on its untreated carriageway network.

•   The Local climate Change Impact Profile (LCLIP), noting more extreme and complex weather events with more frequent storms.

•   The trend for warmer winters with less frequent but more intense rainfall, and the anticipated decline in the number of snow events.

•   Recent service improvements including (i) automated grit bin process, (ii) extending winter standby by three weeks, (iii) effective social media communications and (iv) the review of the existing volunteer scheme.

•   The positive responses, photos and videos received relating to the 'Gritter Twitter' account.

•   The Snow Warden scheme including its aims.

•   The protocol and considerations for requesting changes to routes.

•   The approach relating to planning approval and winter maintenance provision from the Head of Planning and Highway Development Management.

•   The considerations in relation to the gritting of active travel routes.

 

Mr Scarr advised the Panel that in recent years Kirklees had seen some extreme weather events with one Saturday in February where Kirklees experienced flooding, high winds, and snow all at the same time. Mr Scarr advised the Panel that most days in May 2021 the service had to respond due to the icy conditions which was highly unusual.

 

 

Mr Jenkins showed the Panel the kit that would be provided for the Snow Wardens who would be members of a community willing and prepared to clear snow.

 

The Panel asked whether comparisons with other West Yorkshire authorities was the most appropriate given the difference in topography in Kirklees compared to Leeds or Wakefield, particularly as Kirklees had some steep hills and valleys, making comparison difficult.

 

In response to a question Graham West explained that the expectation of the public to have every road and footpath gritted when it snowed was one that the Council could not meet. Mr West explained that there was the increase in budget last year, and there was also an overspend of £300,000.

 

The Panel commented that there were wards where not all health centres were gritted, and the reviewed winter policy only allowed for the road to a new health centre to be gritted, if another one in the ward was sacrificed. Mr West advised the Panel that he would consider that issue.

 

Mr West explained that the Highways Act expected that all local authorities should use all available resources, with the Code of Practice saying that there should be a general risk-based approach.

 

The Panel questioned the approach to assess active travel routes as for social benefit and queried whether that was part of the self-assessment that had been submitted to Active Travel England, as this may have affected the transport funding received.

 

It was noted by the Panel that for some of the greenways in Kirklees, there were a number of school children who would use those to go to and from school.

 

The Panel was interested to understand planning conditions being made relating to areas such as the Dalton Greenway, but those conditions not being assessed for compliance using the annual user assessment and road safety risk assessment.

 

Mr West explained that the effectiveness of the grit used on active travel routes was a consideration, given that grit needed activation, usually provided by tyres.

 

In relation to the Colne Valley Greenway, several millions of pounds had been given to the Canal and Rivers Trust and yet the Panel commented that in winter, if the route was not gritted, users would need to return to use the road network.

 

In response, Mr West explained that these issues had been raised by him at recent meetings discussing active travel and that whilst funding had been provided for the schemes, there needed to be an approach were future maintenance was also considered.

 

The Panel wanted to understand the approach to new housing estates, such as the Riverside development, where 5,000 new homes were being built without provision for gritting or for providing grit bins.

 

The Panel requested information relating to whether grit bins could become a provision within planning in the same way that play areas were.

 

Mr West advised the Panel that there were 1450 grit bins in the Council and Kirklees had the highest number of bin grits on its untreated carriageway network in the West Yorkshire local authority area.

 

Mr West informed the Panel that he had seen significant amount of abuse of grit bins in other authority areas that he had worked for, and he would be keeping a close watch on any abuse that appeared in Kirklees.

 

The Panel commended officers on the use of social media, as they had seen the positive responses from members of the public having now got clear lines of communication directly with them.

 

The Panel asked how the recent increase in costs would affect the winter maintenance budget and questioned whether the Council had enough supplies of grit.

 

Mr West explained there were no current issues with the supply chain of grit and the cost of it had not increased to a large degree, but there had been a large inflationary spike in fuel costs, which would need to be taken into account. Mr West advised that he would provide further information to the Panel in relation to increased costs.

 

Mr West informed the Panel that the Snow Wardens would not have a schedule but

would be led by the community and the individuals involved, and even small amounts of grit and snow being cleared would be seen as a positive.

 

The Panel questioned the use of orange high visibility vests for the Snow Wardens as historically these had been used for workers on railways, however Mr Jenkins explained that the vests shown to the Panel were for illustration purposes only, and checks would be made before they were purchased.

 

There were some concerns about Snow Wardens working on pavements next to roads in icy conditions, but Mr West explained that they had gone through a risk assessment process, and he could provide the Panel with further details.

 

In response to a question from the Panel around the amount of grit the lorries laid on roads, Mr West explained that there were minimum guidelines for the amount of grit laid per square meter of the road.

 

In relation to the snow ploughs being fitted to the front of grit lorries, Mr West explained that this would depend on the weather forecast, as if the forecast was for ice and no snow, the ploughs would not be fitted.

 

10                   RESOLVED- The Panel noted the Winter Maintenance Policy Review and thanked officers for their  presentation. It was agreed that:

 

1.     Further information be provided to the Panel in relation to the, (i) Gritting routes to health centres (ii) the future maintenance of active travel routes when the Council had invested initial capital, (iii) the increase in costs for gritting, (iv) information relating to whether grit bin provision could be a planning condition and (v) details of the risk assessment for Snow Wardens.