Budget for road repairs and maintenance across Essex to be scrapped
Funding for Essex Highways is being cut back - with responsibility for repairing road signs and cutting verges being passed to cash strapped councils
Budgets for maintenance and trimming of verges on roads across Essex is set to be scrapped.
It means funding responsibility for the work carried out by Essex Highways Rangers is being passed to districts and boroughs, even though those authorities have admitted facing tough financial conditions themselves.
The decision from Essex County Council to halt funding of the Highways Rangers – who carry out cleaning and minor repairs on road signs and bollards, trim vegetation to improve the visibility of signs and ad hoc grass cutting and strimming of highway verges – comes after it admitted it was running a policy of “managed decline” on its roads.
Even at current levels Essex Highways are investing less than half the annual amount required just to ‘stay still’, exacerbated even more by inflationary pressures.
The value of annual deterioration, is modelled at £77.7m per year across Essex. This is compared to Essex County Council’s investment of £36.675m per year to fix those wear and tear issues such as potholes.
The annual deterioration of its other assets such as footways, structures, vehicle restraints and school crossing flashing warning signs is now around £52m and the budget is only around 50 per cent of this.
The condition of these “has been of concern for a significant period, and the current indicative investment levels will only worsen the situation, “ Essex County Council adds.
This has sparked a motion from the Labour group to be discussed at next week’s Full Council to urge the council to request an urgent meeting with the Transport Secretary to discuss the current financial black hole regarding highways, as well as writing to the new Chancellor opposing further cuts to local councils.
The council says a response to this motion will be provided at the Full Council meeting.
The decision to cut funding for Highways Rangers means many motorist may notice sides of the more minor roads becoming more over grown and unkept.
In partnership with Essex County Council and Essex Highways the Highway Rangers carry out minor highway maintenance works in districts. This includes trimming vegetation at the side of the road, repairing and cleaning road signs.
The Highway Rangers generally only work on roads of 30mph and below and undertake minor highway maintenance works. Major highway works such as pothole repair should still be reported to Essex Highways.
Cllr Lee Scott, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, said: “We are in challenging financial times, with council budgets under increasing pressure, and that includes our resource for highways and the scope of repairs needed on the road network across the county.
“This means we will need to make some difficult decisions about how to best prioritise funding for highways, focusing on the highest risks to drivers and pedestrians, and keep Essex residents and users of Essex’s highways moving safely.
“With this in mind, it means we’ve made the difficult decision to inform borough and district councils that from 1 April 2023 we will no longer be funding the Highway Ranger Service.
“I have asked district and borough councils to consider whether this might be a service they are able to fund themselves, but I am conscious they would need to review their budgets and financial situations to decide if they are able, or wish to take this service forward.”
However this has not impressed leader of Chelmsford City Council, Councillor Stephen Robinson who says councils don’t have the cash to fund the service from their own budgets.
He said: “It was very kind of them to suggest that district councils should pay for a county council function. And all the district councils were not very impressed by this.
“We have written to the chief executive of Essex County Council to say we are extremely disappointed at the lack of consultation about this and we have just been told it won’t be funded.
“We still don’t quite understand, given it is a statutory function of the highways authority to keep the highways clear, how they are going to carry out their statutory function if they are not going to fund it properly.”
Chelmsford City Council is looking to increase fees and charges as part of a range of measures to close its budget gap, which was forecast in October to be around £7.9m for 2023/24.
Energy costs have hammered its finances. It says it had cost an extra £480,000 this year to just heat the swimming pools at Riverside and South Woodham Ferrers – double the amount from last year – and an extra £300,000 to put diesel in bin lorries.
Councillor Robinson added: “They know the financial pressures we are facing.”