Wales’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, has issued a written statement updating the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, about his independent review of the Strategic Road Network programmes in relation to meeting Statutory Duties which was led by Matthew Lugg OBE, Head of Profession ,Local Government.
Mr Waters writes:
In November 2021, I commissioned an independent review of the annual programmes of work and their suitability for the management of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in Wales in light of the ambitions and priorities in Llwybr Newydd, the emerging Roads Review and the need to think differently about how we manage and maintain the network, to comply with our statutory duties and our response to the climate emergency.
Llwybr Newydd states that “We will make sure our transport infrastructure is safe, accessible, well-maintained and future-proofed, to adapt to climate change.”
The Lugg report took an in-depth view of current statutory commitments, suitability and affordability of maintenance and improvement requirements and the current operating model for delivery.
My officials are considering the recommendations of the report and how they can be applied to ensure that best use is made of existing infrastructure by adopting more rigorous asset management planning. The response to the recommendations will inform the asset management policy and strategy for the strategic road network and be at the heart of an emerging programme of renewals to major assets which will be designed to address the backlog of essential maintenance on the SRN.
I will publish the recommendations of the review and the response to those recommendations once this exercise has been completed.
I would like to thank Matthew Lugg OBE and the panel members for their expertise, insight and valuable opinion on how we should maintain our SRN to ensure that the statutory commitments of Welsh Government’s role as a highway authority are fully retained, but in a climate responsible way that supports modal shift.
(Picture – Traffic Wales)
