The body representing local authority place directors and their teams, ADEPT has highlighted how Live Labs 2 can help local highway authorities make maintenance budgets go further, promoting the programme’s potential to save money, improve efficiency and reduce carbon in its latest newsletter.

Its update urges highways professionals to put the learning into practice as the programme moves from research and testing towards wider adoption. ADEPT says its focus is now on helping authorities turn the evidence and innovations into everyday operational improvements.

The £30 million, Department for Transport-funded programme brought together seven local authority-led projects working with commercial and academic partners to explore ways of decarbonising local roads. Its three-year research phase ended in March 2026, with a further £300,000 from the DfT supporting a year of dissemination and engagement.

Free regional workshops have now been opened to everyone working in the highways industry following requests from across the sector. Programme Director Giles Perkins (pictured) takes participants through the seven projects, highlighting tools and approaches that could deliver financial savings, efficiencies and carbon reductions within their organisations.

Listen to Giles Perkins talk about this on Highways Voices here.

The newsletter also promotes monthly Triage Sessions, where practitioners can discuss specific highways challenges with programme experts. ADEPT says the programme’s findings, tools and data are openly available for UK local highway authorities to use.

Further activity includes briefing MPs, continuing the Highways Voices podcast series and preparing a Little Book of Live Labs to help embed the benefits into routine practice.

Forthcoming workshops include Aberdeen on 21 October, London on 10 November, Cardiff on 18 November and Taunton on 19 November. Places must be booked in advance through ADEPT’s workshop page.

(Picture – ADEPT)