The Environment, Economic Growth and Transport Scrutiny Committee met on Thursday, 23 April 2026, to discuss the council's gully cleaning policy, street lighting column structural surveys, and its work programme for 2025-26. Key decisions included the formulation of recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport regarding the gully cleaning policy, and the adoption of a new approach to prioritising street lighting column replacements.

Gully Cleaning Policy

The committee reviewed the council's gully cleansing regime, which has shifted from a predominantly reactive service to a planned, preventative maintenance approach. This change, implemented in January 2025, aims to improve efficiency and reduce costs by undertaking a two-year intensive cleansing programme for all highway gully assets. The new approach has significantly reduced reactive cleansing costs, with a projected decrease from £2.642 million in 2023/24 to £0.369 million in 2025/26. Investment in cyclic cleansing has concurrently increased.

Concerns were raised by councillors regarding the perceived restrictiveness of the current criteria for reactive cleansing, leading to instances where issues such as continuous water streaming down streets, ice formation risks, and impassable footways were not being addressed promptly. Councillor David Whipp and Councillor Paul Stubbins highlighted that the current policy might be too strict and that communication with residents about the process and timelines needs improvement.

In response, Kirstie Williams, Interim Head of Service Highways Operations and Design, acknowledged these concerns and stated that the council is reviewing the criteria and supplementary guidance. The committee agreed to recommend that the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport consider:

• Developing supplementary guidance that expands upon the existing criteria to address situations where the current criteria have proven too restrictive. This guidance should be shared with all councillors to ensure a clearer understanding of the underlying criteria.
• Reviewing the policy to potentially relax the criteria or allow for extenuating circumstances, ensuring that issues that clearly need addressing are not overlooked.
• Improving the communication process for residents reporting blocked gullies, ensuring that the messages received reflect the reality of the timescale for resolution.
• Increasing the capital budget available for drainage works to address the backlog of identified improvement schemes, estimated at £7.15 million.
• Urgently pursuing structures funding for drainage work on the county section of the M65, which is estimated to cost £15 million.

Street Lighting Column Routine Structural Surveys

The committee reviewed the approach to the removal and prioritisation of replacement of street lighting columns. Lancashire County Council has a duty of care to maintain its lighting stock in a safe condition, and the current stock of lighting columns over 40 years old is considered to be poor, with 23,832 columns in this age bracket as of March 2026. The council is a densely lit authority, with 21.1 columns per kilometre compared to the average of 12.7 for similar shire authorities.

The current methodology for assessing old columns involves a structural assessment based on Guidance Note 22 (GN22), which considers factors such as material type, location, and condition. This process identifies columns that require removal or re-testing. However, there has been a shortfall in budget to replace all columns recommended for removal, resulting in 295 columns being removed and not replaced (stumped ) as of March 2026.

Councillor David Whipp raised concerns about community safety and the impact of lighting on the perception of safety, suggesting that the council should consider community safety data when prioritising replacements. Councillor Joel Michael Tetlow echoed these concerns, highlighting instances where the removal of a single lighting column on a country lane has made residents feel unsafe. He also questioned the cost-efficiency of removing columns without immediate replacement and suggested exploring repair or strengthening options.

The committee made several recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport:

• Budget Increase: To consider increasing the budget allocation for street lighting, acknowledging the significant gap between the allocated funding and the estimated £14 million required to replace all aging columns.
• Notification Process: To introduce a notification process whereby councillors for the affected area are informed when a street lighting column is removed and not immediately replaced. This notification should include the reason for removal and the likely timeframe for replacement, if any.
• Inclusion of Local Police in Consultation: To expand the notification process to include local police, in addition to councillors, to ensure that community safety concerns and crime statistics are considered when re-evaluating the need for lighting in specific locations.
• Third Priority for Replacement: To add a third priority to the replacement criteria, specifically addressing locations where their removal could significantly reduce actual or perceived personal safety, particularly for vulnerable or protected groups.
• Exploration of Repair and Strengthening: To investigate the potential for repairing or strengthening existing concrete or metal lighting columns as an alternative to immediate removal, potentially extending their lifespan.

Environment, Economic Growth and Transport Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2025-26

The committee noted its work programme for the 2025-26 municipal year, which includes reviews of various service areas and responses from Cabinet Members. An in-year request to review street lighting structural surveys was added to the work programme, with a report to be presented at the next meeting. The committee also discussed the scheduling of future meetings, with a consensus to aim for a 10:00 am to 12:30 pm timeframe to allow for more comprehensive discussions and to avoid clashes with other commitments.

The committee also noted formal written responses from County Councillor Joshua Roberts, Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Environment and Communities, regarding Household Waste Recycling Centres, and from County Councillor Brian Moore, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Growth, concerning the Get Lancashire Working initiative.

The next meeting of the Environment, Economic Growth and Transport Scrutiny Committee is scheduled for 18 June 2026.