We were promised a ‘pothole strategy’ of fixing all potholes in any given road rather than fixing just those that meet the ‘criteria’…..this hasn’t happened, why not?

Suffolk Highways are committed to developing the approach to defect and pothole identification to support more being completed at one visit. This may include the identification of defects and potholes during a safety inspection that may exceed intervention standards by the next safety inspection, particularly on the busier roads across the county and where these are in the proximity of defects that meet the intervention standard.

Any pothole left unrepaired, although to the naked eye looks deep enough, apparently doesn’t ‘meet the criteria’. Is not time that Suffolk Highways lowered their threshold criteria so all potholes can be repaired?

The criteria used in the Highway Maintenance Operational Plan sets out the intervention criteria. Currently, the depth of a pothole needs to be 40mm for a repair to be triggered. As set out above, the service is committed to developing the approach to defect and pothole identification which could mean that shallower and smaller defects are identified for repair in particular circumstances. 

A road was closed for one evening for repairs, the following day it transpired that a number of potholes had been missed. The highways team then had to return and repair the pothole(s) missed. Another classic case of money being wasted.

We work hard to coordinate and geographically group defect repairs. On occasion due to the large volumes we are currently experiencing, this may not always happen due to a range of factors:

1. potentially different traffic management requirements (e.g. one near to the junction of a main road and others away from the junction) – grouping traffic management heavy locations reduces cost by ensuring that only the appropriate traffic management resources are used in these locations and not at locations where less resources are needed.

2. Deterioration of the defect since the defect repair was ordered meaning more material is required. We plan the material required for our teams, along with some surplus. We need to ensure we are not wasting money excess material that isn’t used.

3. Linked to the above, the amount of material that can be carried by our vehicles is finite to ensure they are legally weight compliant. On occasions, repairs completed earlier the same day may have used more material (due to deterioration) meaning there is insufficient material remaining to complete all the works at a new work later the same day. The residual defects will then be rescheduled.

Defects are paid for on a defect basis. From a purely money perspective, there is no detriment to the taxpayer, in terms of repair costs, if our highways contractor makes multiple visits. Notwithstanding that, the contractor is incentivised to coordinate and geographically repair defects to reduce non-productive time (i.e. travel and site setup time) where the contractor is not being paid.

Why is it necessary for some potholes to be ‘temporarily repaired’ then the same gang return to do a ‘permanent repair’. I’ve had this conversation before with councillors, why not do a permanent repair once & never return?

A ‘permanent’ repair has a number of stages, including excavation, saw cutting, filling and compacting hot material, apply overhanding to seal the repair and waiting for the material to cool sufficiently for it to be trafficked. A ‘temporary’ repair is likely to be one that involves placing material into a defect and tamping it down. This is a much quicker process that implementing a ‘permanent’ repair.

There will be occasions where instructing or delivering a ‘temporary’ repair is the right thing to do, including:

1. Where the location is within a busy intersection or need to the centreline of a road (this will likely require substantial traffic management and/or a full road closure and which may require a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order to implement which is a legal process) we may take the decision to remove the hazard by implementing a ‘temporary repair’ whilst we undertake the legal process to close the road.

2. The location is on a diversion route for other planned road works so it would be disruptive to road users to implement another closure or install a conflicting diversion route and signage. 

3. The location is on a programme for future patching or resurfacing works.

Potholes are a huge concern voiced by almost everyone in every town and parish and is not exclusive to Suffolk. Could you explain the policy and procedure for identifying, repairing and maintaining the repairs.

Carriageways, footways and cycleways are inspected at regular intervals ranging between monthly to 12 monthly periods depending on the road / footway type. These safety inspections are undertaken to detect defects likely to present a danger or nuisance to the travelling public, and to rectify them with an appropriate degree of urgency.

 During these safety inspections, our team of 21 Highway Assessment Officers (HAO) use 

a set of intervention criteria to determine those that should be ordered for repair. The carriageway defect matrix is illustrated below details that any pothole more than 200mm diameter and 40mm deep will be identified for repair regardless of the road type. The matrix also details a more rapid response where a defect at the point of inspection is deeper that 100mm. Timescales for repair do vary, with a more rapid response given to busier roads.

The same principle applies to other defects.

Is any consideration given to additional pavements and off-road paths when development planning takes place?

Yes, any development likely to generate significant traffic is required to be supported by a Transport Statement or Assessment. These set out how the application is compliant with national policy, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Chapter 9 of the NPPF sets out the requirements for ‘promoting sustainable transport’ in paragraphs 108 to 117 of the framework. The SCC transport planners and public right of way team, if consulted by the local planning authorities, will check that the proposal is compliant with policy, and recommend potential mitigation schemes, such as to provide dedicated walking and cycling infrastructure. However, SCC is only a statutory consultee so any restrictions on development, such as requiring infrastructure to be delivered by planning condition or obligation is a district responsibility.

The government has allocated further pothole funding on top of their normal road funding, how can we, the ratepayers, be assured/guaranteed that the extra money is spent on actually fixing potholes?

The Prime Minister’s Network North announcement on 4 October 2023 included a commitment to an additional £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance from 2023/24 - 2033/34, over and above what local authorities were expecting to receive. For Suffolk, £3.426m is to be received in each 2023/24 and 2024/25 with the residual provided each year to 2033/34. The Department for Transport have not confirmed the funding profile beyond these years.

The funding is not specifically for potholes and can also be used for resurfacing and other maintenance activities. A condition of the grant is for local highway authorities to publish on their website, details on what the funding has been spend on. 

Why are Highways not replacing worn, damaged or missing road direction signs?

In 2023/24, Suffolk Highways spent around £142,000 for sign replacement works, for signs that are not replaced as part Safety Defect Service (see below). In recognition that funding from the Department for Transport is limited and does not afford for Suffolk Highways to undertake all the maintenance that it would like and addition £1.125m of Suffolk County Council’s own funding has been made available to spend over this and  next year to deal with sign replacement work which includes  directional signage.

Why are Highways not replacing road markings i.e. give way or stop?

Where a ‘priority’ road marking is inspected and considered sufficiently worn that they have an impact on road safety, they are identified and ordered for replacement. ‘Priority’ road markings are:

•  Stop and give way markings

•  Markings associated with traffic regulation orders

•  Double white line systems

•  Warning markings

•  Formal pedestrian crossing places

•  Mini-roundabouts

Bicycle wheels are of smaller width than car wheels so why isn't there a different criteria for roads used by cyclists?

Where a mandatory cycle lane exists (one designated by a continuous white line), then an enhanced maintenance standard for repairs applied. In this scenario, a 20mm depth is applied to potholes identified within the cycle lane area.

There are lots of villages where people are restricted from cycling into town due to the lack of a safe cycle route. When are safe cycle route going to be installed?

There is no dedicated Central Government Funding available to provide every road in every town and village in the UK with cycle lanes. Even if funding was available in many cases, it would be totally impractical due to lack of available road width and competing access requirements. Some schemes such as ‘Quiet Lanes’ have been introduced to improve signage on less busy rural roads to make drivers more aware that they are often used by pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists. In some villages, a road layout which is not conducive to high traffic speeds and a lack of heavy traffic makes riding on the road a totally safe and attractive option, fully compliant with the standards set out in national guidance LTN (Local Transport Note) 1/20, which covers cycle infrastructure design. In other locations, where external funding is available, such from development in the area, traffic calming schemes or specific cycle provision can be provided, but this will only ever be the case in a limited number of locations.

There are various routes where the pavement could be designated as a shared area for pedestrians and cyclists at no increased danger to pedestrians. Shouldn't the council be taking action on this to encourage cycling into town?

The emerging Local Transport Plan 4 highlights the most significant settlements in Suffolk  and they will have dedicated implementation plans for highway improvements, in most case funded by residential and commercial development in the area.

We are currently consulting on the initial themes for the LTP4, and will be consulting on the full draft, including the local area plans in the Autumn. These area plans consider the best options for cycle infrastructure in the given town. The national cycle design standards, LTN 1/20 does not support shared facilities as the best option, cyclists, vehicles and pedestrians should all have their own dedicated segregated facilities, to reduce conflict. However due to the road width constraints, and if cycle flows are modest, some shared facilities may be proposed if full segregation of modes is not possible.

The HGV route plan produced by Suffolk County Council has various roads labelled as local access route but there is no enforcement of this?

There are two types of local access routes as detailed in the ‘Recommended Lorry Route Network’. 

• Green local access routes - roads or parts of roads serving as access to a specific location.

• Yellow local access routes with restrictions - roads or part of roads serving an access to a specific location where there is a weight restriction identified by a current Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).  This also includes experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETRO).

Where a TRO or ETRO is in place, contravention of these legal orders is what is called a moving traffic offence.

Weight restriction orders make it an offence to drive a vehicle through the restricted area where the vehicle exceeds the weight limit imposed unless they are delivering or collecting within the weight restriction. The police and the Trading Standards Service can enforce weight restriction orders under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Suffolk County Council has a Lorry Watch scheme that aims to help parish or town councils who feel that local HGV weight restriction traffic orders are being abused.

Details can be found here:  Lorry Watch scheme - Suffolk County Council