Buckinghamshire Highways Resilient Network Plan 2025

The Resilient Network is not the network hierarchy used in Asset Management decision-making, but does form part of it. This ensures that understanding of the most critical sections of the network is a factor when making decisions on where and when to most effectively apply limited resources.

Our asset management strategy outlines a risk-based, data-driven coordinated way to maintaining the highway Network. The Asset Management Strategy aligns national standards and local priorities to align the Council’s strategic objectives and best practice. It emphasises maintaining a safe, resilient, and serviceable network through structured inspection regimes, lifecycle planning and carefully prioritising work. Regular safety inspections and condition surveys are carried out based on the criticality of the 5 main asset classes and this is key consideration when work programmes are devised.

This approach is set out in our Asset Management Strategy.

Our Highway Safety Inspection Policy sets out the safety inspection frequency and defect response times to mitigate safety risk on the network.

Our approach to maintenance is focused on safety, resilience, performance and value for money. Budgets are set through the council's annual Medium Term Financial planning process, and a 4-year works programmes are put together for each key asset based on the outcomes of this process. These work programmes contribute towards achieving the Asset Management objectives and demonstrate our focus on long term planning.

Candidate schemes are identified through a combination of condition data, safety inspection, Asset data (like installation date), local knowledge from operational staff, customer feedback - using the ‘FixMyStreet’ tool - and engagement with elected members. Annual works will be prioritised to ensure that schemes are carried out in locations that have the highest benefit and deliver the best value for money. For many assets multi criteria analysis of data is used to prioritise schemes considering the safety of users, network hierarchy and network resilience, amongst other things. For Local roads (Hierarchy 4b), a “Think councillor” approach is used based on community needs identified by elected local members.

Although Buckinghamshire Highways will minimise risk as far as practicably possible through investments and prioritisation, incidents may still occur, in which case Buckinghamshire Highways uses the contingency arrangements set out in the Council Emergency Response Arrangements (CERA), Incident Management Process (IMP) and Business Continuity Plans.