The Petition of people of New Addington and Croydon,

Declares that the road conditions of Parkway, New Addington has been left in such a poor state of repair that a proper repair needs to take place to the foundations of the road instead of patching repairs

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to secure Croydon Council’s commitment to providing a thorough going long lasting repair of the major potholes in Parkway, New Addington

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mr. Andrew Pelling, Official Report, 29 March 2010; Vol. 508, c. 604.]

[P000792]

Observations from the Secretary of State for Transport, received Thursday 1 April 2010:

Maintenance of the highways in New Addington is a matter for Croydon Council, within the direction set by the Mayor’s transport strategy. It has a duty, under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, to maintain the highways in its charge. The Act does not specify standards to which highways should be maintained; this is a matter for each local highway authority, taking into account local priorities and resources. Local government democratic processes provide opportunities for the public to make their views known to the council.

The Department for Transport encourages local highways authorities to develop Transport Asset Management Plans. These set out an inventory of the assets under the council’s control, the condition they are in, the service levels the council intends the assets to deliver, and their plans to maintain the assets so as to deliver that service. The Department also encourages authorities to adopt the good practice set out in the UK Roads Liaison Group’s code of practice for highways maintenance management, “Well-maintained Highways” (available from www.ukroadsliaisongroup.org). The code is not mandatory, but together with complementary codes on highways structures and street lighting, provides good practice advice across the whole range of maintenance activities.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the 2010 Budget that local authorities in Great Britain would receive £100 million to assist with repairs to their highway network necessitated by this year’s severe winter weather. The London Borough of Croydon will receive £164,000 as part of this. In addition, the council can also apply funding from Transport for London, Revenue Support Grant provision from the Department for Communities and Local Government, and their own resources such as Council Tax or Supported Borrowing, to the maintenance of their highways assets.