The Highways Cabinet Panel met to discuss responses to motions regarding utility works and the highways locality budget, as well as updates on pothole repair trials and general highway maintenance. Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst OBE, Executive Member for Highways, was scheduled to provide updates on various highway maintenance activities. The panel was also expected to discuss public petitions and the minutes from their previous meeting.

Utility Works on the Highway

The panel was scheduled to consider a motion regarding utility works on the highway, which was referred to them by the County Council on 22 July 2025. The motion, proposed by Councillor Matt Cowley and seconded by Councillor Vishal Patel, raised concerns about the inconvenience caused to motorists by utility companies' roadworks, the quality of repairs, and the effectiveness of interventions available to the council.

The motion stated:

There are over 60,000 incursions into the Highway every year; approximately half of them utilities. Whilst many of their contractors fixing sewerage, gas, electricity and fibres do an excellent job, on too many occasions emergencies are called, traffic signals are left unattended, and the Hertfordshire motorist is inconvenienced with expensive detours. Repairs can be very good but there are many that are substandard and cause potholes.

The report pack included a letter from Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst to the Secretary of State for Transport, sent in September 2025, highlighting concerns about inadequate regulations and low fines for utility companies. The letter requested confirmation of planned increases to fines, urged a broader review, and called for amendments to legislation so local authorities can levy fines for unresolved defects and poor repairs.

The report pack also included an example of a letter from Councillor Steve Jarvis, Leader of the Council, to utility companies such as Affinity Water, Cadent Gas and UKPN, seeking a meeting to formalise and strengthen collaboration through a joint protocol and partnership.

The panel was asked to note the motion and the letters, and also that Councillor Steve Jarvis and Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst had discussed the concerns with officers.

The report also provided data from the national StreetManager system, indicating that utilities have completed approximately 26,500 works so far this year, with Hertfordshire County Council issuing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) on approximately 7% of those works. The report noted that most FPNs are due to administrative errors, while others are related to signing, lighting, and guarding failures.

Highways Locality Budget

The panel was scheduled to discuss a motion regarding the Highways Locality Budget (HLB), which was referred to them by the County Council on 22 July 2025. The motion, proposed by Councillor Alistair Willoughby and seconded by I Albert, highlighted that the HLB has remained fixed at £90,000 per County Councillor since its introduction in the 2010/11 financial year, and that inflation has significantly increased the cost of delivering highways works.

The motion stated that if the budget had risen in line with inflation since its inception, its value today would be approximately £135,000 per councillor, representing a real-terms shortfall of around £45,000. It also noted that this erosion in value has limited the range, responsiveness, and consistency of works that can be delivered under member-led proposals.

The panel was asked to recommend to Cabinet that officers consider options for uplifting the HLB as part of the County Council's 2025/26 budget-setting process, explore an indexation mechanism to protect the fund's future spending power, undertake a review of the HLB system's timing and process, and clearly highlight the fund's role in enabling councillor-led improvements.

The report noted that due to the likely impact of the Fair Funding Review¹, the council is under huge financial pressure to set a balanced budget, and that it seems very unlikely that an inflationary increase would be possible without making reductions elsewhere.

Trial of the 'One Visit, More Impact' Approach to Fixing Adjacent Potholes

The panel was scheduled to receive a verbal progress report on the trial of an alternative approach to fixing adjacent potholes. According to the report, two further phases of the trial were underway during September and October 2025. A full report was expected to be brought to a future Panel meeting once all the facts and figures are available.

General Update on Highway Initiatives

The panel was scheduled to receive a verbal progress report on various highway maintenance activities, including the winter service, highways customer statistics, pedestrian guard rails, and green infrastructure.