Utility co-operation means fewer barriers to progress

29 October 2009

Dialogue between Newport City Council and utilities has improved since the city began its £21m maintenance blitz.

Project 21 aims to clear Newport’s maintenance backlog on highways and footways within three years, using prudential borrowing.

This accelerated action is not mirrored in the programmes of Wales & West Utilities (WWU) and Welsh Water, but council officers want to minimise the chances of roads being excavated after resurfacing. ‘We appreciate that the utility companies have limited budgets,’ chief scrutiny officer, David Collins told councillors. ‘The commitment shown by the utility companies has exceeded expectations. The benefits are proved in the high-quality of information we have received from them to date.’

Graham Bond, WWU’s street works manager, said such extensive resurfacing over a relatively-short period presented utilities and the local authority with coordination challenges. Initial meetings had helped all parties to understand the scale of the task. ‘The teams involved are now working together on a daily basis, with a monthly meeting to review progress,’ he said.

Project 21 began in June. Figures compiled in September show that £1.24m had already been spent on carriageways, footways and slurry sealing. Staff had surveyed 30% of carriageways and footways on foot.

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