North Tyneside Council is trialling an eco-friendlier version of road resurfacing to support its ambitious work towards being carbon net-zero by 2030.
New low temperature resurfacing materials will be used at two locations – Addington Drive in Hadrian Park and East Bailey in Killingworth.
A smaller carbon footprint is possible through the use of less energy in the production and laying operations, resulting in significantly lower emissions compared to traditional hot-laid materials.
The condition of the roads will be monitored and if their performance meets quality standards, the resurfacing treatment will be considered for other locations in the future.
The road resurfacing trials were outlined in in the HAMP (Highway Asset Management Plan) Annual Information Report 2022, which was presented to the local authority’s Cabinet tonight (Monday 23 January).
The report shows that the Council continues to maintain the Borough’s highways to a high level, demonstrating it meets standards set by the Department for Transport. However, it acknowledges that there remain challenges around the increased costs arising from inflation as well as uncertainty over future funding.
Cllr Sandra Graham, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I very much welcome these efforts to reduce the carbon emissions of our road resurfacing work.
“Although, as a council, we control less than two per cent of the borough’s emissions, we continue to do all we can to try to make North Tyneside carbon net-zero by 2030.
“This year’s information report shows that while our highway network is being managed effectively, we are approaching a point where maintenance may be more challenging due to national underfunding and inflation.
“Our financial investment in highways in recent years has been of enormous benefit in terms of improving the road network. However, this cannot continue indefinitely. The national funding model for local highways authorities is not sustainable and continually leaves councils having to make difficult local decisions to tackle the funding shortfall.
“We know the condition of roads and pavements is very important to residents and it continues to be a policy priority for us. This is why we invest an extra £2m each year to specifically address residents’ identified priorities on roads and pavements.
“I will be working with our officer team to explore our options, so we continue to meet residents’ priorities when it comes to the condition of the Borough’s roads and pavements.”
In September 2017, Cabinet adopted an updated HAMP 2017-32 setting out the Council’s approach to maintaining its highways and infrastructure in the most effective way.
The HAMP contains a commitment to providing Cabinet with an annual information report and this was presented to members on Monday, January 23.
The Highways service is delivered for North Tyneside Council by its partner Capita. The annual information report states that Capita is achieving and, in many instances exceeding, its performance targets with regard to highway maintenance.
Since the local authority declared a climate emergency back in 2019 – and more recently announced its ambitions to work towards being carbon net-zero by 2030 – a range of interventions have been delivered or are underway to reduce both the Council’s and the Borough’s carbon footprints.
It includes energy efficiency and energy generation measures in council homes and buildings; major steps forward in active and sustainable travel; further improvements to recycling; increasing planting of biodiversity areas and trees; electrifying appropriate council vehicles; and more.
And encouragingly, the council has announced significant reductions in the amount of carbon emissions that had been achieved, with savings of 53 per cent for the council and 47 per cent for the borough as a whole.
Notes to editors:
Capita Local Public Service, part of Capita plc, is dedicated to making processes smarter, organisations more efficient and customer experiences better across the local government, health and education sector in the UK. We unlock value for our clients by applying talent and technology. Responsible for operating all of Capita’s major local, public sector partnerships, we deliver a wide range of specialist services including IT and digital transformation, customer management, revenues, benefits, finance, infrastructure support and regulatory services, education support and back office processing.
Capita Local Public Service can also draw on specialist capabilities, such as HR, payroll and procurement from across the wider Capita group, to ensure the very best market knowledge and outcomes are achieved.
Since November 2012 Capita has delivered a range of technical services for North Tyneside Council: engineering; property and planning.
