Council to bring pothole repairs and road maintenance back ‘in house’ next year

Rochdale Council is to bring the job of fixing potholes and keeping roads in decent condition back ‘in house’.

The authority is ditching contractor Balfour Beatty in a move it claims will give it more ‘control and flexibility’ over how it carries out the ‘vital service’.

The decision means the company will stop performing highways maintenance for the council when its contract ends in March next year.

‘Key functions’ set to come back under direct control of the local authority include the following:

• Reactive highways repairs, such as potholes
• Drainage maintenance work, including the annual gully cleaning programme
• The winter maintenance programme, including gritting
• Out of hours call-out
• Larger scale capital work, such as surface dressing and road resurfacing

The move has been hailed by the authority’s roads boss Councillor Neil Emmott, cabinet member for quality of place.

He said: “These changes will bring a number of benefits and opportunities, particularly in paving the way for small and medium-sized local businesses who will now have an opportunity to work directly for the council in the delivery of one of our most important services.

“This is very much in the cooperative spirit that our borough is known for and should bring with it the added benefit of safeguarding and creating new jobs in our area.

“Bringing these services in house will allow us to invest in new pieces of equipment and machinery, so smaller-scale capital projects can be undertaken by ourselves, which will be more cost-effective in the long term. “

He added that the switch would also support the council’s green agenda, by bringing modern and efficient machinery into its fleet.

“I’m pleased we’ve taken this innovative step and I look forward to the benefits it will bring business and residents across the borough,” said Councillor Emmott, who also thanked Balfour Beatty for its service since 2015.

Bigger capital projects will still be delivered by contractors, however. The council says this will open up opportunities for small local companies who wish to work on its highways improvement programme.

The authority also believes the change will allow for a more ‘flexible approach’, with highways officers working more closely with departments such as environmental management.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter