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Road improvements: Department for Transport (DfT) funding

Our 4 year programme of highways maintenance – and how we are using extra Government funding

Made possible by reallocated HS2 funding

We have an Asset Management Policy and Strategy which sets out how we identify and prioritise which roads will be resurfaced each year. As part of this process we have a 4 year programme of schemes which is refreshed each year.

This programme:

  • takes a balanced approach between main roads and local roads
  • has a mix of reconstruction, resurfacing and preventative maintenance schemes such as surface dressing which can prolong the life of a road at a fraction of the cost of resurfacing
  • includes smaller scale ‘plane and patch’ work which supplements the work that our crews carry out when they repair smaller scale potholes and defects

Whilst we invest our own funding heavily in our road maintenance there is never enough money to repair all of the roads that both our residents and ourselves would like. This is why any additional funding is always welcome.

Funding from the Government

In recognition of the national need for further funding into local authority roads, the Government announced an additional £2.33 million of funding for Buckinghamshire in the March Budget of 2023. A further £1.65 million per year for 2 years was announced in late 2023 for Buckinghamshire.

Planned and completed work

View roads and areas that are benefiting from government funding.

Examples of completed work

Before and after photos of New Street, Aylesbury which was resurfaced as part of the Department for Transport funding

Before and after of Jasons Hill in Botley which was resurfaced as part of the Department for Transport funding

Before and after of Wexham Park Lane, Wexham where the road was resurfaced as part of the Department for Transport funding

Before and after of Main Street, Grendon Underwood which was resurfaced as part of the Department for Transport funding

How we are using innovation in maintaining highways

We use innovative solutions in highway maintenance including:

  • Vaisala Artificial Intelligence to help assess road conditions
  • a new model for contract delivery to help streamline the design process (introduced in April 2023)
  • use of Alloy, an asset management system which provides live information on a map
  • creating an Innovation Board to seek out and trial innovation
  • working closely with contractors to:
    • select materials
    • find opportunities to be more efficient
    • reduce carbon emissions

This year we have trialled:

  • in-situ plastic recycling
  • stabilised pavement recycling
  • mastic repairs
  • a JCB Pothole Pro machine

How we ensure utility works are completed efficiently

We created a permit scheme in 2020 and are currently working on the requirements to facilitate an application to run a Lane Rental scheme. This would give us the powers to better coordinate all works on our highway network. 

We have been applying a zero tolerance approach to all operators on compliance and performance issues. This makes sure that we balance allowing works to take place and minimising any disruption to our communities and travelling residents.

We encourage collaboration between all parties and have regular meetings to discuss:

  • future programmes of proposed works from all operators, including our own highway works
  • potential conflicts
  • opportunities for joint delivery

Total amount of annual investment (DfT and local funding)

View the total amount of annual investment in maintenance of highways over the last 5 years XLSX,13.5KB.

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