Agenda item

Report from the Director of Policy, Strategy and Engagement.

Recommendations:

1.    That Cabinet receives the recommendations listed below, as approved by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board:

a.    Approve amendments to the Highway Asset Management Plan to incorporate a comprehensive framework for attachments to lighting columns and associated highway assets, setting out requirements relating to permitted and prohibited attachments, risk-based approval arrangements, structural testing and retesting requirements, applicant responsibilities, and enforcement provisions. The framework should apply consistently to all users of lighting columns, including the Council, Parish and Town Councils, contractors and third parties.

b.    Approve the development and publication of a standalone, publicly accessible Lighting Column Attachments Guidance Document, in consultation with Parish and Town Councils, to provide clear and practical guidance on the application of the Highway Asset Management Plan framework, including attachment classifications, approval processes, testing requirements, responsibilities, communication arrangements, and practical examples of acceptable and unacceptable attachments.

c.     Establish formal consultation, communication and engagement arrangements with Parish and Town Councils, including consultation on future policy changes, testing programmes and charging arrangements, together with sufficient advance notice of any financial implications to enable effective budget planning, procurement and decision-making.

d.    Establish clear categories for lighting column attachments, identifying which attachments are permitted without testing, permitted subject to approval and structural testing, or prohibited, and publish consistent standards for structural testing, assessment criteria, retesting intervals, validity periods and maximum permissible loading thresholds where appropriate.

e.    Continues to coordinate structural testing arrangements on a borough-wide basis where appropriate and considers longer-term funding, procurement and cost-sharing arrangements to minimise administrative burdens and secure value for money for Parish and Town Councils whilst maintaining compliance with relevant safety standards.

f.      Ensures arrangements are developed to support the continuation of community display schemes where lighting columns are unable to safely accommodate attachments, including consideration of alternative display solutions, targeted asset replacement where appropriate, the use of structural testing outcomes to identify trends, inform the Council’s future investment priorities, replacement programmes and wider asset management decisions.

g.    That the service engages in meaningful discussions with interested parties including Parish Councils, seeking to install displays on lighting columns, with the aim of reaching a shared understanding regarding the timescales and process for replacing damaged or missing columns, and to explore opportunities to facilitate timely installation where feasible.

h.    Strengthen the enforcement framework for unauthorised attachments by establishing clear compliance procedures and, where legally permissible, implementing arrangements for the recovery of costs incurred in the removal of unauthorised installations, and reviews the effectiveness of the new arrangements within 12 months of implementation, including consideration of feedback from Parish and Town Councils, testing outcomes and enforcement activity, with the findings reported to the relevant Scrutiny Board.

2.    That Cabinet formally considers its response to the above recommendations within two months of its receipt, in accordance with the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

3.    That in responding to these recommendations, it is requested that Cabinet’s response should identify the proposed actions, responsible officer(s), success measures and target completion dates for each recommendation.