Cabinet
Subject: Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 25/26
Date of meeting: 24 April 2025
Report of: Cabinet Member, Transport, Parking & Public Realm
Contact Officer: Name: Tracy Beverley Capital Programme Manager City Operations
Tel: 01273 293813
Email: tracy.beverley@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected: All
Key Decision: Yes
Reason(s) Key: Expenditure which is, or the making of savings which are,
significant having regard to the expenditure of the City
Council’s budget, namely above £1,000,000
1.1 The Council Plan ‘A Better Brighton & Hove 2023 to 2027 sets out a vision for Brighton & Hove to be a city to be proud of, a healthy, fair and inclusive city where everyone thrives. The plan sets out four outcomes to deliver this vision. This report proposes grant funding via the Local Transport Plan to directly contribute to the delivery of outcome 1, A city to be proud of, by supporting the delivery of an accessible, clean and sustainable city. Furthermore, this report demonstrates the council’s clear ambition to manage resilience against Climate Change and contributing towards achieving net zero.
1.2 The City Council receives capital funding each year for transport schemes through the government’s Local Transport Plan [LTP] process. This report proposes how the £8.366m grant is allocated in 2025/26 and recommends these proposals are approved.
1.3 In response to growing concern about the transport infrastructure this report also includes an indicative 25/26 Planned Maintenance programme and an update to the Highway Reactive, Safety Maintenance & Inspection policy. This policy defines the Council’s approach to reactive highway safety maintenance on the public highway.
2.1 That Cabinet agrees the £8.366m 2025/26 Local Transport Plan Capital budget is allocated as set out in table 1, section 3, of this report.
2.2 That Cabinet notes the detailed indicative 2025/26 Planned Maintenance Programme, as set out on Appendix 1 and agrees the Highway Reactive Safety Maintenance & Inspection Policy as set out in Appendix 2.
3.1 Annually, The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates LTP funding to highway authorities. This year the funding has been allocated in two specific ‘blocks’; Integrated Transport Block and Maintenance Block.
3.2 Within each Block’ allocation the highway authority must determine how that transport funding is allocated to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 42 of the Highway Act 1980 and to maintain and improve their networks based on their local transport priorities.
3.3 The LTP Programme will directly contribute to corporate priorities by delivering a safe, accessible and sustainable transport network making it easier for people to travel around while continuing to invest in maintaining and upgrading our highway network. Table 1 sets out how the Council will allocate its LTP grant funding for 2025/26 to meet these priorities.
3.4 This investment programme aligns with the current LTP4 by continuing to invest in the maintenance of the transport network while improving streets and infrastructure. Furthermore, it is consistent with the emerging principles of the LTP5 strategy by shifting how people travel and developing safe and well-maintained streets and places. This LTP5 Strategy is underdevelopment and will inform the priorities for the future of transport.
Table 1, LTP Annual Programme 2025/26
|
Work towards Carbon Net Zero - provide a safer, more accessible and attractive environment that enables people to walk, wheel and cycle more and reducing carbon emissions |
Proposed Allocation (£'000's) |
|
|
Improving Safety |
School Streets / Safer Streets for Kids |
125 |
|
School Travel Plan Measures |
15 |
|
|
Safer, Better Streets |
200 |
|
|
Collision reduction |
75 |
|
|
Improving accessibility |
Dropped kerbs Accessibility Programme |
150 |
|
Delivering Public Right of Way improvement Plan |
50 |
|
|
Supporting Active an Inclusive Travel |
Developing LCWIP including delivering A23 & A259 corridors |
1200 |
|
Improving accessible cycling |
Bike Hire facilities and cycle parking development |
125 |
|
|
|
|
|
Delivering Major Schemes |
Sustainable transport schemes supporting the delivery of S106 schemes unlocking potential |
55 |
|
Valley Gardens Phase 3 (Match funding) |
728 |
|
|
Project Management, support for delivering schemes |
360 |
|
|
Total Integrated Transport Block Subtotal |
3083 |
|
|
Make it easier for people to move around the city - continue investing in maintaining and upgrading our highways network |
||
|
Highway Maintenance |
Carriageways |
3950 |
|
Footways |
628 |
|
|
Highway Assets |
Drainage |
100 |
|
Traffic Signals |
150 |
|
|
Street Lighting |
100 |
|
|
Bridges & Structures |
East Cliff Retaining Wall to support Madeira Terrace works |
100 |
|
Bridges & Structures MRN- Kings Rd Arches , Dukes mound in-fill works |
200 |
|
|
Highway Asset Management Framework |
55 |
|
|
Total Maintenance Block Sub total |
5283 |
|
|
Total combined LTP Budget (£'000s) 25/26 |
8366 |
|
Integrated Transport Block
3.5 The £3.083m Integrated Transport Block will provide match funding to deliver a programme of active travel schemes including the A259 Active Travel Corridor Scheme. In June 2024 Cabinet meeting, the A259 Active Travel Corridor project was approved on the understanding LTP funding would need to be allocated to support its development. This year £1.2m has been invested to towards this priority scheme.
3.6 £415,000 will support the continued roll out of dedicated safety programmes including School Streets (Safer Streets for Kids), Safer, Better Streets and collision reduction programmes. Funding will also be dedicated to the accessibility improvement programme providing essential infrastructure to improve the accessibility of the Public Highway. £728,000 will support the continued delivery of the major transformational Valley Gardens phase 3 project.
3.7 This paper focuses on the proposed allocation of capital LTP funding but is aligned with the wider capital transport programme of works funded by both Council borrowing and grant funds. The wider programme includes grant funding from the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) £3.2m and £1.6m Active Travel funding as well as over £6.5m Council borrowing for street lighting and structures. The total combined programme is over £19.5m
Maintenance
3.8 The Council, as the Local Highway Authority, has a statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain its highways. The £5.283m capital Maintenance Block funding will deliver priority planned maintenance of roads, footways and drainage facilities. This funding will also support the maintenance of highway bridges and structures street lighting and drainage improvements.
3.9 Over £620,000 is allocated to footways to provide essential, safety maintenance works and to improve accessibility on our dedicated footway network. Over £3.9m is allocated to roads to deliver the 2025/26 indicative Planned Maintenance Programme, as set out in Appendix 1. This programme has been developed using a data-led priorotisation approach, as recommended in the Department for Transport’s ‘Code of Practice for Well -Managed Highway Infrastructure’
3.10 This indicative programme is subject to a range of variables such as appropriate works permits, variations in actual v’s planned construction costs and weather conditions.
3.11 Maintenance on roads has been priorotised using a two-stage assessment procedure. Stage 1 involves an annual, automated assessment to determine a number of factors including; road hierarchy, proximity to key services, road condition and predicted deterioration rates. Stage 2 is a manual assessment considering a range of deliverability aspects such as; engineer site assessments, affordability, coordination with other planned works and road space availability.
3.12 The Department for Transport (DfT) recognises the clear link between climate change and the increase burden on road infrastructure causing an increase in potholes. As extreme weather events and changing temperatures become more frequent there is an ever-increasing burden on council assets. The Council receives, on average, around 200 enquires relating to potholes and general road condition each week.
3.13 Although we welcome the increase in capital funding for maintenance, from central government, it is not enough to resolve the maintenance burden. We estimated there is a backlog of £57m for roads and £39m for footways. To prevent further decline of these assets alone we would need an estimated annual budget of £8.45m.
3.14 A wider strategic approach to help tackle our maintenance backlog will be needed to help avoid further decline. This is a high priority for the City Council, and we will continue to utilise technology to develop our asset management systems, collate data and trial new and innovative surfacing techniques to reduce the burden on the Councils budgets.
3.15 In addition to the £5.283m capital grant fund a further £2.1m council funded revenue allocation has been provided to address immediate safety concerns on the roads. A combined maintenance approach to reactively address potholes in the short term to make them safe, alongside a longer term planned maintenance approach to avoid potholes is the most efficient use of limited resource. It costs approximately £200/m2 to repair a pothole compared with £10/m2 to carry out preventative maintenance that can prevent potholes from forming and extend the life of the asset by up to 15 years.
3.16 This £2.1m reactive maintenance funding is allocated in accordance with the Highway Reactive, Safety Maintenance and Inspection Policy, included in appendix 2. This policy sets out how the Council prioritises reactive safety maintenance. It follows a data led approach to enable the highest priority locations, those that are most likely to cause injury, to be prioritised and determines the level of urgency to respond to defects on the road.
4.1 Table 1 outlines how the LTP grant fund should be allocated for 2025/26. This is proposed in line with the current LTP and the emerging principles of the Strategic LTP5 document. This sets out how funding should be utilised to deliver our local transport priorities. Consideration has also been given to those commitments already made within the wider transport programme.
4.2 While the level of investment for maintenance is not sufficient to resolve the historic maintenance backlog. Funding is allocated to the priority areas using best practice, well-documented, data- led approach. The Council also continue to seek and find innovative ways to improve service efficiency utilising technology and developing innovative maintenance surfacing solutions.
5.1 The Local Transport Plan (LTP) 5 is under development and its principles have already undergone full public consultation. While the full LTP 5 is under development it will be subject to additional consultation phases in summer 2025. The full LTP 5 document sets out strategy for the management, maintenance and improvement of the transport network and identifies the priorities and projects the council will deliver. It will affect anyone who makes use of the local road network, managed by the council.
5.2 Before delivering transport improvement schemes the Lead Cabinet Member is fully briefed, the schemes are subject to public consultation and if necessary statutory consultation through the Traffic Regulation Order Process.
6.2 With regards to the enhanced Maintenance Block, the DfT have announced that English local authorities will get 75% of the increase promised, but if a council does not publish a report on road maintenance, including details on pothole filling progress, the remaining 25% will be withheld. In practice this means £344,500 of the proposed budget is based on the reporting requirements being satisfied, but at this stage the reporting requirement is not a concern as it is expected this will be met.
6.3 The Integrated Transport Block is awaiting final confirmation from the DfT and is based on last years award for this report, however it is not expected that this will be any less than the £3.083m listed.
6.4 Future years’ capital programmes will require cabinet approval and will be reported at future committees. Any revenue implications as a result of these schemes including financing costs from borrowing will be met from existing revenue budgets
Name of finance officer consulted: David Wilder Date consulted (25/03/2025):
7.1 The Council must ensure that its Capital Programme aligns with its strategic priorities, which is the case in this instance. There are no direct legal implications associated with approving the LTP Funding Allocations but any relevant legal implications that may arise on individual schemes will need to be considered when brought forward for implementation.
Name of lawyer consulted: Katie Kam Date consulted (17 03 2025):
8. Risk Implications
8.1 This report directly supports actions set out to manage the Councils corporate risk (SR38) ‘Failure to take effective action to increase our cities resilience to climate change, improve biodiversity and transition to Net Zero’ and (SR40) Failure to maintain a clean and safe city.
9.1 This report is aligned with the Brighton & Hove Accessible City Strategy 2023-2028.Improving accessibility of the transport network is a key aim for the Council and therefor for this programme of work. The LTP5 is subject to a strategic Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) and the individual programs and projects are subject to their own individual Equality Impact Assessments.
10.1 The LTP focus on measures to achieve Carbon Net Zero and therefore the measures outlined in this programme work towards reducing the impacts of transport in the environment by promoting Sustainable Transport use.
11. Health and Wellbeing Implications
11.1 This programme directly supports the new physical activity strategy 2024-2034 which amins to get more people travelling actively. Promoting walking and cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle.
12.1 The LTP funding has been allocated to help deliver the Council Priorities and aligns with the key objectives of the emerging LTP5. Allocations support a wider transport programme and therefore the recommendations set out in section 1 are sound.
12.2 The Highway Reactive, Safety Maintenance & Inspection Policy as set out in appendix 2 aligns with government guidance and provides a framework in which to prioritise limited funding for reactive safety maintenance.
Supporting Documentation
1. 2025/26 Planned Road Maintenance Programme
2. Highway Reactive Safety Maintenance & Inspection Policy