Cabinet
Subject: Transport Capital and Maintenance Programme 2026-27
Date of meeting: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Report of: Cabinet Member for Transport & City Infrastructure
Lead Officer: Name: Alison McManamon, Corporate Director- Operations
Contact Officer: Name: Colin Harwood
Email: colin.harwood@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected: (All Wards);
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 and Is significant in terms of its effects on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more electoral divisions (wards).
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 and a healthy, fair and inclusive city where everyone thrives. This report proposes the allocation of grant funding from the Local Transport Grant and Maintenance Block 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. The programme outlined in this report also contributes to building resilience against climate change and working towards achieving net zero.
1.2 The projects and initiatives included in the 2026/27 capital programme are also in line with the objectives of Our City Transport Plan 2035, agreed by Cabinet in December 2025[SF1] and Full Council in January 2026, and respond to the priorities identified through the public consultation on this plan.
1.3 The council receives capital funding each year for transport schemes through the government’s Local Transport Grant and Maintenance Block funding process. This report proposes how the £8.801m capital grant is allocated in 2026/27.
1.4 This report also includes an indicative 2026/27 Planned Maintenance Programme.
1.5 Finally, the report includes an update to the schemes prioritised within the Council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). This will inform the allocation of grant funding for scheme development.
2.1 Cabinet agrees the £8.801m 2026/27 Local Transport Grant capital budget is allocated as set out in Table 2.
2.2 Cabinet agrees to delegate authorisation of submissions to the Department for Transport on outline delivery proposals for 2027-2030 to the Corporate Director for City Operations in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport & City Infrastructure.
2.4 Cabinet agrees the 2026/27 Safer Better Streets priority schemes as set out in Appendix 3.
2.5 The Cabinet gives delegated authority to the Corporate Director for City Operations, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport & City Infrastructure, to finalise the updated Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) route prioritisation (Appendix 4) following engagement with members of the Transport & Travel Partnership and to use scheme development funding according to this prioritisation[SF2] .
3.1 Annually, The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates grant funding to highway authorities. The funding has been allocated in two specific blocks – The Local Transport Grant (LTG) and Maintenance Block. The LTG replaces the former Local Transport Plan (LTP) Integrated Transport Block. The Maintenance Block includes a 25% incentive element which is only awarded if the council meets criteria around progress in spending the funding and reporting of this. The council has met these requirements for 2025/26 and would expect to do so in future years. The total allocation has therefore been used for budgeting purposes.
3.2 In previous years, funding has been allocated annually. This year, allocations have been published by the DfT for the next four years. This will assist with future planning; however, the current report focuses on the allocation of the 2026/27 grants only.
3.3 In December 2025, the DfT announced that, in future, this funding will be allocated as part of a consolidated fund, also incorporating the Bus Grant and Active Travel funding. The combined allocations will be used to develop a longer-term capital programme; however, funds will be allocated via the new Mayoral Combined Authority rather than directly to the council as Highway Authority. The council will be required to submit an outline Local Transport Delivery Plan providing a longer-term plan to 2029-30. This is expected to be based on the plan for 2026-27 included within the current Cabinet report and the longer-term plan included within Our City Transport Plan. The Cabinet is asked to delegate agreement of submissions to the DfT required by March 2026 to the Corporate Director for City Operations in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport & City Infrastructure.
3.4 Table 1 sets out the allocations for the next four years.
Table 1: Local Transport Grant and Maintenance Block Allocations
|
Funding |
Allocations (£’000s) |
|||||
|
25/26 |
26/27 |
27/28 |
28/29 |
29/30 |
||
|
Local Transport Grant - Capital |
3,083 |
3,326 |
3,390 |
3,698 |
5,206 |
|
|
Highways Maintenance Block |
Baseline |
3,905 |
4,037 |
4,508 |
5,008 |
5,968 |
|
Incentive |
1,378 |
1,438 |
1,921 |
1,930 |
1,962 |
|
|
Total Maintenance |
5,283 |
5,475 |
6,429 |
6,938 |
7,930 |
|
|
Total capital funding |
8,366 |
8,801 |
9,819 |
10,636 |
13,136 |
|
|
Local Transport Grant – Resource (see paragraph 3.15) |
298 |
298 |
298 |
298 |
TBC |
|
3.5 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 transport networks based on local transport priorities.
3.6 The transport capital 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 the highway network.
3.7 This investment programme aligns with Our City Transport Plan 2035 by continuing to invest in the maintenance of the transport network while improving streets and infrastructure by providing a safer, more accessible transport network and providing active travel choices.
3.8 The scheme allocations proposed also intend to have benefits not confined to transport, for example, complementing efforts towards city centre renewal. Improving pavements also has potential benefits or cost savings for other services, such as adult social care by making pavements more accessible, or city environment by reducing weed growth and the need for associated treatment.
3.9 The programme is complemented by funding from other sources including the Local Authority Bus Grant, which will contribute to the City Transport Plan objective to increase public transport use, and the Consolidated Active Travel Fund.
3.10 Table 2 sets out how the council will allocate its LTG and Maintenance Block grant funding for 2026/27 to meet the City Transport Plan objectives and to support the delivery of the city’s key priorities. The themes are indicative and the different parts of the programme will support each other. For example, accessibility improvements will also be provided through the safety schemes and major projects.
Table 2: Annual Capital and Maintenance Programme 2026/27
|
Our City Transport Plan Objective |
Capital Programme |
Proposed Allocation (£'000s) |
|
|
Deliver a safe, inclusive and integrated transport system
Promote and use technology to reduce and manage travel |
Improving safety |
School Streets |
90 |
|
Safer, Better Streets |
270 |
||
|
Traffic signal maintenance and upgrade and network improvement programme |
145 |
||
|
Vehicle safety barrier improvement and replacement programme |
95 |
||
|
Deliver a safe, inclusive and integrated transport system
Create well-maintained streets, pavements and right of ways |
Improving accessibility |
Dropped kerbs accessibility programme |
50 |
|
Delivering Public Right of Way improvement Plan |
50 |
||
|
Tree stump removal / replacement and pavement renewal |
100 |
||
|
Deliver a safe, inclusive and integrated transport system
Provide active travel choices for all and excellent public spaces |
Supporting active and inclusive travel |
A259 Hove to Portslade active travel scheme
Amount in line with scheme approved by Cabinet in November 2025 |
1400 |
|
Improving accessible cycling |
Bike hire facilities and cycle parking development |
60 |
|
|
Deliver a safe, inclusive and integrated transport system
Create well-maintained streets, pavements and right of ways
Provide active travel choices for all and excellent public spaces |
Delivering major schemes |
Valley Gardens Phase 3
This amount is previously committed as part of the budget agreed by the former Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee in January 2022. No additional funding is sought |
286 |
|
Project Management, support for delivering schemes |
380 |
||
|
Create well-maintained streets, pavements and right of ways
|
Improving the look and feel of the city |
City centre renewal - transport funding for road, pavement and signage enhancements to complement wider public realm initiatives, such as street cleaning, funded from other sources |
200 |
|
Pothole prevention |
200 |
||
|
Local Transport Grant Subtotal |
3326 |
||
|
Create well-maintained streets, pavements and right of ways
Promote and use technology to reduce and manage travel
|
Highway Maintenance |
Carriageways |
3950 |
|
Footways |
820 |
||
|
Highway Assets |
Drainage |
100 |
|
|
Traffic signals |
150 |
||
|
Street lighting |
100 |
||
|
Bridges & Structures |
Maintenance of structures |
300 |
|
|
Highway Asset Management Framework |
55 |
||
|
Maintenance Block Subtotal |
5475 |
||
Local Transport Grant
3.11 The LTG provides match-funding to previously approved schemes, including the A259 Hove to Portslade Active Travel scheme and Valley Gardens Phase 3. These amounts are consistent with previous commitments and not additional. The funding will also support the continued roll out of dedicated safety programmes including School Streets (implementation of moving traffic offence enforcement powers) and Safer, Better Streets. Funding is also dedicated to the accessibility improvement programme. Appendix 3 provides further details of the priority Safer Better Streets schemes for 2026/27 following the assessment of requests.
3.12 Allocations to the above reflect the priorities of residents indicated in the Our City Transport Plan consultation shown in Figure 1. In response to this, additional funding categories have also been incorporated this year for measures to improve the look and feel of the city and complement maintenance budgets. This includes the following:
· City centre footway renewal
· Pothole prevention
· Traffic signal replacement
· Vehicle safety barrier replacement
· Improving footways around trees
3.13 Further carriageway and footway surfacing is also delivered through the other LTG funded schemes outlined.
3.14 This report focuses on the proposed allocation of capital LTG and Maintenance Block 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 Local Authority Bus Grant (£3.3m) and Active Travel funding (£0.9m), The total combined programme is approximately £18.9m.
3.15 In addition to the capital funding, the DfT provides resource funding to support scheme development, delivery and behaviour change initiatives. For 2026/27 this includes:
· £0.299m Local Transport Grant resource funding
· £0.288m Consolidated Active Travel Fund resource funding
3.16 To inform the allocation of the scheme development funding, the scheme prioritisation included in the LCWIP has been updated and is provided in Appendix 4. The update was undertaken because the original prioritisation of routes was done four years ago. The update reflects the schemes delivered or in progress to date, the future road maintenance programme and a revised assessment of the deliverability of schemes. The Transport & Travel Partnership will be consulted on the revised prioritisation.
Figure 1: Percentage of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that objectives will address the challenges facing the city
Maintenance
3.17 The council, as the Local Highway Authority, has a statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain its highways. The £5.475m 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.
3.18 £0.8m is allocated to footways to provide essential, safety maintenance works and to improve accessibility on the dedicated footway network. £3.9m is allocated to roads to deliver the 2026/27 indicative Planned Maintenance Programme, as set out in Appendix 1. This programme has been developed using a data-led prioritisation approach, as recommended in the DfT’s Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure.
3.19 This indicative programme is subject to change due to a range of variables such as appropriate works permits, variations in actual compared to planned construction costs and weather conditions.
3.20 Maintenance on roads has been prioritised 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.
3.21 Although the capital funding for maintenance from central government is welcome, it is not enough to resolve the maintenance burden. Officers estimate there is a backlog of £57m for roads and £39m for footways. To prevent further decline of these assets alone, the council would need an estimated annual budget of £8.45m.
3.22 In addition to the capital grant fund, a further £2.2m council funded revenue allocation has been provided to address immediate safety concerns on the roads. The capital programme funding is not able to be used for reactive maintenance. 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 per m2 to repair a pothole compared with £10 per m2 to carry out preventative maintenance that can prevent potholes from forming and extend the life of the asset by up to 15 years.
3.24 A Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy is essential to ensure that the Council meets its statutory duties, manages risk effectively, and makes best use of limited resources in maintaining a safe and resilient highway network. The Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Code of Practice (2016) sets out clear expectations that local highway authorities adopt a risk-based, whole-life approach to managing highway assets, supported by a formally approved policy and strategy. The Code emphasises the need for transparency, consistency and evidence-based decision-making, linking levels of service, performance outcomes and investment priorities. By having an adopted Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy, the council can demonstrate compliance with the Code, provide a clear framework for decision-making, satisfy the requirements of the Incentive Fund, and show that maintenance and investment decisions are aligned with corporate objectives, customer needs and available funding. This approach also supports audit and external scrutiny, reduces the likelihood of challenge, and helps ensure the long-term sustainability and safety of the highway network. The Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy was last updated and approved in January 2023 and requires a refresh to reflect the current Council Plan priorities, changes in national funding levels and improvements in the service. Appendix 2 includes the updated policy and strategy for 2026.
4.1 There are restrictions on what the capital allocations should be spent on. For example, it should not be spent on reactive maintenance such as filling in potholes. It can however be spent on capital investment to renew or extend the life of highway assets. This report proposes directing additional LTG funding for this purpose. An alternative option could be to allocate more funding for this. However, this would need to come from other programmes which have also been identified as priorities, including reducing funding for schemes to improve road safety and the accessibility of the city. The proposed allocations seek to achieve an appropriate balance between all of the priorities identified and deliver against each of the objectives of Our City Transport Plan 2035.
5.1 The 2026/27 capital programme reflects the objectives of Our City Transport Plan 2035, which was agreed by Cabinet in December 2025. This was subject to a public consultation which provided information on the priorities for residents. The 2026/27 transport capital programme has been developed directly in response to these priorities.
5.2 This report also proposes an update to the prioritisation of schemes identified within the council’s LCWIP. The plan itself has previously been subject to consultation. The revised prioritisation list will be shared with stakeholders, including members of the Transport & Travel Partnership, before being finalised.[SF3]
5.3 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.
6.1 The overall level of new funding available for 2026/27 is a 5.2% increase on what was awarded in 2025/26 which is slightly above the current rate of inflation. Further increases have been allocated for future years. The announcement of a multi-year allocations will assist with longer-term planning, although this is subject to how funding will be allocated through the Mayoral Combined Authority.
6.2 With regards to the Maintenance Block, 25% of the listed balance is an incentive fund. 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 £1.44m of the proposed budget is based on the requirements being satisfied but, at this stage, this is not a concern as it is expected these will be met.
6.3 Future years’ capital programmes will require cabinet approval and will be reported at future meetings. 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 21/01/2026
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 LTG and Maintenance Block 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: 21/01/2026
8.1 This report directly supports actions set out to manage the council’s 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 therefore for this programme of work. Our City Plan 2035 was subject to a strategic Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) and the individual programmes and projects will have their own assessments as applicable.
10.1 The capital programme focusses on measures to contribute towards a more sustainable transport system by reducing the impacts of transport on the environment, as well as providing a network that is more resilient to the effects of climate change.
11. Health and wellbeing implications
11.1 This programme directly supports the Physical Activity Strategy 2024-2034 which aims to get more people travelling actively. Promoting walking and cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle.
12. Procurement implications
12.1 Procurement will be addressed at individual programme or project level. Most of the capital schemes will be delivered through the council’s Highways Services Framework.
13. Crime and disorder implications:
13.1 None identified.
14.1 The LTG and Maintenance Block funding has been allocated to help deliver the council’s priorities and aligns with the key objectives of the newly adopted Our City Transport Plan.
Supporting Documentation
1. 2026/27 Indicative Planned Road Maintenance Programme
2. Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy 2026
3. 2026/27 Safer Better Streets Priority Sites
4. Updated Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan scheme prioritisation
1. Our City Transport Plan 2035
2. Highway Reactive, Safety Maintenance & Inspection Policy 2025
[SF1]And Full Council in January 2026
[SF2]his reads as though engagement is required before scheme development funding is used and would then appear to mean that the LCWIP will not be the document that the Corporate Director refer to when prioritising development funding. Really the engagement has to happen before the LWIP is finalised so that Cabinet has the final say - otherwise the prioritisation could be at odds with what Cabinet has approved. What sort of influence should the Transport and Travel Partnership have over this plan? I am not clear who this is.
[SF3]See comment above - if the LWIP is not yet finalised is it the right time for Cabinet to be approving this now? Is a delegation required to finalise this document after the consultation?