Asset management is a strategic approach that identifies the optimal allocation of resources for the management, operation, preservation and enhancement of the highway infrastructure to meet the needs of current and future customers (i.e. taxpayers and other users of the transport network).
Asset management is not a new concept in Warwickshire. The County Council has been applying the principles of asset management for some time. In the 1970’s, Warwickshire was one of the first local authorities to introduce condition assessments for all of its carriageways. The assessment systems have changed over the years, but the results have helped to ensure that money for structural maintenance has been targeted at the most appropriate roads. Similar processes have been adopted for other key assets, particularly in planning for their life-cycle replacement.
Successful asset management relies on good data. The County Council has relatively good data on most of its transport assets. For some assets data is comprehensive and current. For others, work is being undertaken to bring it up to a similar standard. Further improvements to the County Council’s datasets on its transport assets are identified in this Plan.
The County Council recognises that ensuring the condition and safety of the transport network is a front line service which both Warwickshire residents and visitors to the County expect. A good quality Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP) will assist the Authority in understanding the value and liability of the existing asset base, and allow decisions to be made in an informed way that will not compromise its value for future generations. Through the adoption of smarter working practices, the County Council aims to bring about cost savings in terms of both ongoing investment in the existing transport network and its medium/long term renewal.
The TAMP aims to set out not only the practices and systems that are currently being applied to the management of the transport asset, but also the aspired levels of service and their associated funding requirements.
The requirement to produce a TAMP was first highlighted in the Full Guidance on Local Transport Plans published by the Department for Transport in December 2004. This required all Transport Authorities to produce a statement in their Provisional LTP2 submissions on their proposed approach to producing a TAMP. Following further guidance from DfT, these statements were revised for the Final LTP2 submissions in March 2006.
In addition, since 2006 all local authorities have been required to produce a valuation of their highway assets. Under these requirements from 2007/08, local highway authorities will be expected to determine not only the value of their assets, but also monitor year on year whether they are depreciating or not following investment. This is likely to be a key indicator for Government on how effectively each authority is investing their capital LTP structural maintenance funds. There is therefore now an intimate relationship between asset management and asset valuation.
Having a TAMP is likely to be a pre-requisite of delivering a good highway management service in the future and may influence the availability of central funding. It is therefore important that the County Council prepares and continually improves its asset management practices. This plan forms the starting point for the formal adoption of asset management within Warwickshire and will be the tool used to benchmark our performance.
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