The Department for Transport recommends that local authorities produce a Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP).
The TAMP aims to bring together the management processes associated with the maintenance of the highway and transport assets in one document. Our plan was approved at a meeting of the Executive Members for City Strategy and the Advisory Panel on 11 September 2006.
The development of the TAMP complies with the guidance issued in the Framework for Highway Asset Management, published by the County Surveyors Society in April 2004.
The asset groups included in the plan are:
- carriageways and footways
- winter maintenance
- structures
- street lighting
- road markings and signs
- verges, trees and street furniture
- highway drainage
- traffic signals and urban traffic control
- public rights of way
- car parks
- park and ride sites
- off road cycle routes
Stages of the plan
The present plan has been developed up to stage three.
- Stage One of the plan identifies our goals, objectives and policy and details the associate assets involved
- Stage Two details the existing condition of the assets and demand aspirations
- Stage Three identifies performance gaps and whole life cyclic maintenance periods
The development of the plan further will be carried out in consultation with members, officers and the future highway maintenance service provider, whether appointed through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) bid or other form of long-term procurement.
- Stage Four investigates the link between the assets level of service, maintenance regimes and their allocated budgets and risk. This stage will identify the optimum level of funding and resources required to maintain the asset at a desired condition/level of service
- Stage Five details the service delivery required and identifies a forward works programme and undertakes the delivery of the maintenance regime
- Stage Six monitors and reports the actual performance of the regimes, whether the desired level of service has been achieved and recommends improvement actions where required. This will be achieved through the publication of an annual report
In July 2005 the County Surveyors Society produced a document called Guidance Document for Highway Infrastructure Asset Valuation. This details the process involved in the valuation of the highway asset and a baseline value is required to be published in April 2007.
There are a number of reasons for us to produce a TAMP. These include the Local Transport Plan, Whole of Government Accounts, Prudential Code borrowing, Best Value, code of practices for highway maintenance, street lighting, structures and the introduction of rethinking construction.