Worcestershire County Council is proposing to require developers to contribute towards the long-term maintenance of non-standard highway infrastructure, in a move aimed at protecting public maintenance budgets from the future costs of enhanced street features.
The council’s cabinet approved a commuted sums policy on Thursday 22 October, subject to consultation. It would apply to infrastructure requiring a higher or different level of maintenance than the authority’s standard specification, including bespoke paving, specialist street lighting, trees, landscaped areas and raised platforms.
Commuted sums are one-off payments designed to cover the future maintenance costs of such assets over an agreed period. The council said it does not currently have a formal policy for charging developers to maintain these types of highway infrastructure.
Tom Wells, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport, said the policy would help protect council budgets and taxpayers while ensuring new infrastructure remained financially viable throughout its lifespan.
“This will protect the highways maintenance budget, it will protect taxpayers and provide transparency,” he said. “It will ensure new infrastructure remains financially viable for the duration of its life.”
The proposed policy would not cover standard roads and pavements, but would focus on specialist assets that can carry additional maintenance costs.
Wells said the council would follow national guidance from the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) when setting charges, adding that other authorities, including Leicestershire, had adopted similar arrangements.
The proposed maintenance periods would vary according to the asset, with commuted sums covering 60 years for most infrastructure, 120 years for bridges and 20 years for traffic signals. Once the relevant period had expired, responsibility for maintenance costs would revert to the council.
The approach highlights how local authorities can seek to account for the whole-life costs of new highway infrastructure as part of development, rather than leaving future maintenance liabilities entirely to the public purse.
(Picture: Mapillary)
