Agenda and decisions

Salford City Council - Record of Decision

I, Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning, Transport & Sustainable Development, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution, do hereby:

Approve the proposed programme of work for the Highway Drainage Investment Programme (DIP) 2023/24 and the Culvert Investment Programme (CIP) for 2023/24, as outlined in the report.

The Reasons are:

To facilitate continuous improvement of the highway drainage infrastructure as part of the defined Network Recovery Plan as part of the ongoing rolling programme of drainage repair works.

Options considered and rejected were:

No other options were considered for this report.

Assessment of Risk:

Medium – it is important that the existing highway drainage and culvert infrastructure improvements continue in order to ensure that surface flooding is minimised, and that the capacity of existing systems is maximised, especially in view of the climate emergency.

The source of funding is: Prudential Code funding (Capital)

Legal Advice obtained: Helen Chapman Principal Solicitor Solicitor-0161 234 3227

15th March 2023

The Council as highway authority has a number of statutory duties and powers in relation to flooding matters on highways maintainable at the public expense. The Highway Authority must take such care in all the circumstances as is reasonably required to ensure that the highway is not dangerous for traffic and for the public.

Under s100 Highways Act 1980 the highway authority for a highway may, for the purpose of draining it or of otherwise preventing surface water from flowing on to it, do all or any of the following:—

(a) construct or lay, in the highway or in land adjoining or lying near to the highway, such drains as they consider necessary.

(b) erect barriers in the highway or in such land as aforesaid to divert surface water into or through any existing drain.

(c) scour, cleanse and keep open all drains situated in the highway or in such land as aforesaid.

On highways liable to flooding to a considerable depth, under s103 Highways Act 1980, the authority has a duty to provide graduated posts or stones indicating the depth of water covering the highway where it is considered necessary or desirable. The Council also has a duty to remove obstructions arising from snow, from falling down of banks/landslides on the side of the highway, or from any other cause.

The Council has undertaken recent surveys and investigation of the highways drainage systems and identified a prioritised programme of repairs to ensure that the worst areas of flooding and structural defects are addressed first. Similarly, the culverts for which it is responsible have undergone surveys leading to prioritised repairs according to the future likelihood of collapses, blockages, and flooding, whilst also considering location and previous history.

The proposals in the report for DIP and CIP will assist the Council in complying with these duties and strengthen the Council’s position in establishing a defence to any associated potential 3rd party claims by demonstrating that there is in place a sufficiently robust regime  ...  view the full decision text for item 3a

Salford City Council - Record of Decision

I, Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning, Transport & Sustainable Development, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution, do hereby:

Approve the Crash Barrier Investment Programme 2023/24

The Reasons are:

To facilitate continuous improvement of the Vehicle Restraint System installations as part of the defined Network Recovery Plan.

Options considered and rejected were:

No other options were considered for this report.

Assessment of Risk: 

Medium – it is important that the existing highway vehicle restraint systems are inspected, repaired and replaced when appropriate in order to ensure the continued safety of the travelling public.

The source of funding is:

Approved Highways Investment Capital Programme for 2023/24 (general unsupported borrowing).

Legal Advice obtained:Paul Haley Senior Legal Officer 234 3699 Date: 10th March 2023

Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 imposes a duty upon the City Council to:

• prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety and may make contributions towards the cost of measures for promoting road safety taken by other authorities or bodies.
• carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads or part of roads, other than trunk roads, within their area and must, in the light of those studies, take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents, including the dissemination of information and advice relating to the use of the roads, the giving of practical training to road users or any class or description of road users, the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of roads for which they are the highway authority and other measures taken in the exercise of their powers for controlling, protecting or assisting the movement of traffic on roads.

If studies support the installation of the crash barriers in order to improve road safety, then installation of such barriers would mitigate any liability on the part of the local authority for failing in its duty of care to implement measures designed to prevent or reduce accidents, provided those barriers comply with and have been installed in accordance with all regulatory requirements.

Section 62 of the Highways Act 1980 provides a general power of improvement for maintainable highways; and section 66 provides that the highway authority may install rails and fences for the purpose of protecting users of the highway.

Finally, s.41 of the Highways Act 1980 (‘the Act’) places upon highway authorities the duty to ‘maintain’ those highways that are maintainable at the public expense. The Act defines ‘maintenance’ as including repair for the purposes of the Act. The said highways should be in a fit state to accommodate the ordinary traffic which passes or may be expected to pass along them, which would include the maintenance of crash barriers where studies have indicated that these should be installed to improve highway safety.

When commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services or works the City Council must comply  ...  view the full decision text for item 3b