Local highways maintenance transparency report

Climate change, resilience and adaptation

Decarbonisation

In May 2019, we committed to becoming a carbon neutral Council. We also pledged to raise awareness of the importance of taking action to combat climate change across the borough, working with others to consider and tackle their carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption and promoting healthy lifestyles. Our resolution to do this remains firm; however, we have made two changes to how we are going to deliver on our ambition.

The works that we committed to in 2019 are continuing but the target date for this to be achieved has been reset to 2030, which aligns us to Cheshire West and Chester Council and Warrington Borough Council.  As well as amending the target date, we have committed to being carbon neutral with a minimum of offset by 2030.

This means that we are going to focus our resources on reducing our own carbon emissions from buildings and vehicles and less on offsetting measures. The council will still require a small amount of offset, as we do not expect to be 100% fossil fuel free by 2030.

We are baselining and hot spotting our maintenance activities in alignment with PAS 2080:2023 to decarbonise current and future activities and improve long term sustainability in road maintenance. PAS 2080 is a global standard for managing carbon emissions in buildings and infrastructure.

We have been working to decarbonise our highway maintenance operations by:

• Employing warm asphalt materials on our road network – This approach necessitates less energy for production and application than conventional hot mix asphalt, thereby decreasing emissions.
• Introduction of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDs) across the Borough.
• Implementing surface dressing and micro asphalt treatments – These methods are designed to prolong the lifespan of roads, thereby reducing the frequency of repairs and minimising environmental impact.
• The installation of energy-efficient, long-lasting LED lights throughout the Borough to deliver substantial decreases in energy usage and carbon emissions.
• Utilising electric-powered vehicles in place of petrol-powered counterparts.

The council also participates in the regular Midlands Highway Alliance Carbon Steering Group to gain a better understanding of the adverse effects that highway infrastructure maintenance activities have on the environment, and to explore improved methods for mitigating or offsetting the carbon emissions produced by highway projects.

Impacts of climate change and improving resilience

A core element objective of our highway’s strategy is the development and management of a resilient network capable of withstanding the growing impacts of climate change. This includes building resilience into design, maintenance, and asset management practices, with an emphasis on risk-based planning and early intervention.

Our Network Hierarchy specifies a Resilient Network. This was developed in accordance with the Transport Resilience Review of 2014 and is reviewed regularly. We look to prioritise investment where possible on routes that are critical to connectivity, particularly in areas vulnerable to extreme weather.

Through continuous condition monitoring, and coordination with local emergency planning teams, we aim to ensure the network remains safe, reliable, and accessible during and after adverse events.

Additionally, we have focused our maintenance and investment into carriageway condition and also the drainage asset.  We recognise that our network drainage is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

We are looking to maintain this increased focus over a number of years to reduce the impacts and improve resilience. Our structures review programme is also a key element in prioritising structural repairs.

Additional information links

Major road and transport projects - for the latest information these projects.

Transport Strategy in Cheshire East - to see how we're building on the Local Transport Plan

Active Travel in Cheshire East - to find more information on using walking and cycling to travel more actively.