Buckinghamshire Highways Asset Management Strategy 2021

Buckinghamshire Highways (BH) will continue to utilise Lifecycle Planning principles to identify the long-term investment requirements for the major asset groups. The investment requirements identified will be utilised to ensure that BH will deliver the Asset Management Objectives and therefore contribute towards the council’s Strategic Objectives. The Lifecycle Plans will be used to inform the allocation of budgets through the business planning and medium-term financial planning processes and to assist in making the case for investment where required.

Lifecycle plans will be regularly updated and reviewed against performance achieved to improve predictions and reliability. The outputs from the Lifecycle Plans will be used to inform key stakeholders including elected Members through the Medium-Term Financial Plan which allocates funding across all corporately owned assets including Schools and Public Buildings. Works programmes for asset protection and renewal will be developed to deliver the required performance for the Capital invested while optimising materials used and so minimising the carbon footprint of the works.

Lifecycle Plans will be used to predict long term future performance of highway infrastructure assets for different levels of investment. Different treatment strategies will be developed to guide effective and efficient maintenance to optimise the use of materials. The plans determine the level of investment required to achieve the desired performance in accordance with the council’s Strategic Objectives at the minimum cost over the lifecycle.

By considering the highway as an integrated set of assets and comparing predicted performance against desired targets across all asset groups, decisions will be made to distribute investment between the assets to best achieve the Council’s Strategic Objectives for the budget available.

BH will combine the results of the Lifecycle Planning with the asset prioritisation processes to endeavour to maintain the highway network against increased future demands. Consideration will be given to local developments and nationally significant projects such as High Speed 2, the Western Rail Link to Heathrow, the East West Rail Link and the M4 Smart Motorway. We will work with third parties to ensure their activities are not at the detriment of our network and will secure funding to mitigate any potential impacts as necessary. This will ensure Buckinghamshire remains attractive and thriving.

The Lifecycle plans will continue to follow the principles outlined in the Highway Maintenance Efficiency Programme’s Guidance on Asset Management.