The Place Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss an overview of the Place Department, the Highways function, and the proposed work programme for 2025-26. Presentations were planned to provide committee members with information on these topics. Public questions were also scheduled to be taken.

Place Department Overview

Chris Henning was scheduled to present an overview of the Place Department, including its current role, objectives, and services. The presentation was expected to cover the department's structure, staffing, and budget, as well as key opportunities and challenges.

The Place Department's objectives, as outlined in the current Council Plan, include:

• Delivering a safe, effective, efficient, and innovative highways service.
• Leading the stewardship of the natural and built environment.
• Supporting the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to drive inclusive and sustainable growth.
• Working to address the causes and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Place Department is divided into three divisional areas: Economy & Regeneration, Environment & Transport, and Highways (including Flooding). It has 1,215 staff, equating to 732 full-time equivalent posts. The department's funding includes a £96 million revenue budget for 2025/26 and a three-year capital programme. The department also has a £12.2 million revenue savings target over a five-year programme.

The Economy and Regeneration division, led by Director Joe Battye, is responsible for libraries and heritage, regeneration and major projects, regulatory services, and sustainable growth. The Environment and Transport division, led by Director Claire Brailsford, is responsible for environmental sustainability, conservation, heritage and design services, countryside services, resources and waste, and transport. The Highways division, led by Director Julian Gould, is responsible for the highways commissioning service and the highways delivery service.

The presentation was also expected to highlight key opportunities and challenges for the Place Department, including working with EMCCA, local government reorganisation, the long-term waste strategy, and making the most of new highways funding. Increasing demand for services, such as highways maintenance, home to school transport, and planning applications, was also expected to be discussed, as well as net zero adaptation.

Highways Function Overview

A presentation on the Highways Function was scheduled to be delivered to the Place Scrutiny Committee. The presentation intended to cover the Highways' vision, its importance, an overview of its activities, its team structure, its approach to asset management, and network management. The presentation also intended to provide an introduction to liability and risk management.

The stated vision for Derbyshire Highways is:

To deliver a safe effective, efficient and innovative Highways Service, which supports our goals and takes opportunities to improve and enhance service delivery for the residents, businesses, and communities of Derbyshire.

The presentation noted that 57% of people are fairly or very dissatisfied with road maintenance nationally, and that the Highways department responds to approximately 70,000 enquiries a year.

The Highways department delivers an annual programme of over 1000 schemes focused on highways maintenance, traffic safety, bus network improvements and town centre renewal, resurfaces approximately 6000 square metres of carriageway per month (weather permitting), manages around 3000 permits annually for utilities to dig up the Highways Network, and processes 30 Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) annually. They also provide flood and transport advice on around 700 planning applications annually, and work in partnership with the police to improve traffic safety and reduce death and injury.

The Highways department manages approximately £8 billion of highways assets, with annual capital investment over the last 3 years of approximately £40 million per year, and annual revenue investment of approximately £19 million per year. The highways service is provided for approximately 2% of the council's total Council Tax budget.

The presentation also covered how the Highways department works with utility companies, noting that over 4 in every 5 sets of roadworks are by one of the utility companies. While the council has limited legal powers to refuse their works, utilities have a duty to cooperate with the council's requests, and the council has a duty to co-ordinate all works and events.

Work Programme 2025-26

The committee was scheduled to discuss its proposed work programme for 2025-26. Potential items for the first three meetings in 2025 were proposed, and members were invited to suggest any additional items or issues for consideration.

The proposed work programme included the following topics:

• September 2025: East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) Overview and Update on Transport Transition Plan.
• November 2025: Council's preparedness for severe weather and flooding events, update on Derby and Derbyshire Waste Treatment Centre, and update on the Council's Minerals Plan.
• February 2026: Update on implementation of the Planning framework in Derbyshire and update on implementation of the Library Strategy.

Public Questions

The agenda allowed for a 30-minute period for public questions. Questions had to be submitted in writing or by email no later than 12 noon three working days before the committee meeting.