During the meeting, Surrey County Council's Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth, Councillor Matt Furniss, approved the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) Phase 4 grant investment decisions, an update to the Highways and Transportation Asset Management Strategy, and changes to the Highway Hierarchy Policy, particularly concerning footways. The meeting also included a procedural item to exclude the public from a portion of the meeting to discuss exempt information.

Bus Service Improvement Plan Phase 4 Grant Investment Decisions

The council has been allocated BSIP Phase 4 grant funding from the Department for Transport (DfT), which includes both revenue and capital allocations, as well as funding for 'Capacity and Capability' support. The total funding amounts to £10.9 million. The BSIP Phase 4 follows the funding allocated for Surrey in 2023, called BSIP+, later renamed to BSIP Phase 2. Unlike BSIP Phase 2, which was only revenue funding, BSIP Phase 4 covers both revenue and capital funding. The DfT requires that BSIP4 funding should be spent or otherwise fully committed, ideally with contracts in place, in the 2025/26 financial year. The investment priorities align with the council’s objectives of growing a sustainable economy and enabling a greener future, and are based on the aspirations set out in their June 2024 BSIP. The prioritised programme for the application of the grant and the reporting process to the DfT were formally approved.

Key initiatives to be funded include:

• The Surrey LINK Card, offering half-price travel for those aged 20 and under.
• Expansion of the Surrey Connect Digital Demand Responsive Transport (DDRT).
• A bus priority investment programme.
• Funding to increase the number of zero-emission buses.
• Expansion of Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI).
• Funding access to roadworks data for bus operators.
• Enhancements to 15 bus services.
• Making the Acorn multi-operator ticketing scheme smart-enabled.
• Development of disability awareness training for bus operators and local transport authority staff.
• Development of a bus stop design guide.

The revenue interventions and BSIP aspirations, with estimated funding, are:

• Promotional activity: £300,000
• DDRT Phase 3: £1,200,000
• Continued support for the Surrey LINK Card: £300,000
• Service enhancements & Reliability Improvements: £3,717,000
• Aira Explorer App Support: £25,000
• Initial Bus Franchising Study: £110,000
• Supporting Real Time Investment: £214,000

The capital interventions and BSIP aspirations, with estimated funding, are:

• DDRT Phase 3 minibuses: £800,000
• Zero Emission Bus scheme – ZEBRA 2 increased scope: £550,000
• Bus Clearway Assessment & Expansion Programme: £375,000
• Wider Elmbridge & NW Surrey Bus Priority Programme: £300,000
• Bus Priority Programme West Surrey focused – Guildford & Blackwater Valley: £700,000
• Redhill Bus Station Study Options Assessment: £255,000
• Staines Bus Station Options Assessment: £500,000
• Real Time Passenger Information improvements: £224,000
• Zero Emission Bus scheme – New scheme with Stagecoach: £1,254,000

The report noted that some of the BSIP Phase 4 funding would be used to reduce the County Council’s need to borrow to fund capital investment. The council will provide quarterly updates to the DfT on BSIP Phase 4 spend.

Highways and Transportation Asset Management Strategy Update

The Highways and Transportation Asset Management Strategy sets out how Surrey County Council manages its highway infrastructure assets, considering whole-life costs, associated risks, and alignment with Surrey’s corporate objectives. The updated strategy was approved. The Highway Asset Strategy is a key part of the council's Asset Management Framework, including the Capital Prioritisation Policy, Safety Inspection Policy, Highway Hierarchy Policy, SKID Policy¹, Survey Strategy and Asset Data Strategy. The changes to this version of the strategy since the 2022 version include:

• Reference to the updated Highway Hierarchy Policy, in which the main changes are to the Footway Hierarchy
• Updates to the service wide alignment section referencing the groups that feed into the improvement programme
• Update to ‘How we plan investment’ section to reflect current processes and network condition
• Update to reflect progress on how we are using image recognition survey (Route Reports and Vaisala Road AI) to inspect our roads and collect condition data
• Reference to new PAS 2161 Condition Standard
• Update to include reference to the Asset Strategy Delivery Plan
• Updated reference to Performance Indicators (PIs) to reflect current number of metrics
• Update to ‘Future Opportunities & Demands’ section to reflect current status and include reference to Road Markings, Vegetation and Drainage and cycle asset management
• Update to ‘Considering the Environment and Sustainability’ section referencing the introduction of Climate Change Risk & Vulnerability Assessments.
• Reference to ongoing work to improve management of Passenger Transport data
• Updates to old URL links and references to outdated directorate, team and position titles

Highway Hierarchy Policy Update

The report outlined improvements to the Footway Hierarchy section of the Surrey County Council Highway Hierarchy Definition Policy. The updated policy was approved. The Footway Hierarchy is a data-led method of categorising Surrey’s footways based on usage. The hierarchy dictates how frequently a footway is inspected, how often condition data is collected, and is a key component of the Capital Scheme Prioritisation Policy. It also informs snow clearance priority.

The changes include:

• Increasing schools with more than 250 pupils from category three to category two, resulting in more frequent safety inspections (four times a year instead of twice yearly) and increased prioritisation for maintenance.
• Introducing a new category, splitting category four into four A and four B, to prioritise footways serving community facilities such as care homes and playgrounds.

Councillor Matt Furniss said this was good news for inspecting more frequently around schools and key community facilities.

Exclusion of the Public

Under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public was excluded from the meeting for consideration of items involving the likely disclosure of exempt information.