Asset Management Plan - Newcastle City Council

Signs, Barriers & Street Furniture Life Cycle Plan20.6.4 DisposalDisposal is any activity that removes a decommissioned asset, including sale,demolition or relocation.As with asset creation the constant improvement of the Highway Network,particularly with regard to safety, means that signs, barriers and street furnitureassets are disposed of on a regular basis. Such work being instigated byPlanning & Transportation and Engineering Services.20.7 OptimisationReactive (Adhoc) MaintenanceAs with other assets the monies for repairs or minor replacement of signs,barriers and street furniture comes from the overall budget which is based onhistoric precedent and is made available to the Street Management Team. Inrecent years this budget has been a target for financial cuts and is below the sumneeded to maintain the highway efficiently and to respond effectively to therequests of residents.The adhoc highways revenue budget of approaching £ 2.1 million, has been splitup within a number of different budget headings, initially broken down intoPrincipal, Classified & Unclassified roads. A number of sub-headings are thenused within these groupings, although in some cases the money from one budgetheading is used for works within another heading where funds are insufficient tocarry out the necessary work.These sums are then allocated against work orders as and when requiredfollowing inspections or reports from members of the public highlighting defects.The remaining budget available is updated as each new order / invoice is placedand is checked on a weekly basis to try to limit any overspend.The budget highlighted for signs, barriers & street furniture currently stands atapproximately £90,000, which covers only the reactive maintenancerequirements of the infrastructure and makes no allowance for plannedmaintenance works or improvement schemes.It is estimated that £50,000 is required for meeting purely the statutory (safety)obligations of the council with regard to signs, barriers & street furniture, whichwould not allow for the replacement of missing nameplates or repairs to othersigns, barriers or street furniture which were not considered to be potentiallyhazardous.20.7.1 Service OptionsA developed asset management approach is intended to facilitate better decisionmaking by providing enhanced information to support the decision makingprocess. In practical terms this means the identification and assessment ofService Options.211