Northumberland County Council - Transport asset management plan (TAMP)

Transport asset management plan (TAMP)

The plan sets out how we will manage our highways network, catering for all modes of transport and ensuring it is fit for purpose for the future.

The policy and strategy sets out the plan's aims, themes, levels of service, asset groups and how they are managed, performance monitoring and overarching processes.

The policy and strategy is based on the fundamental principles set out in national guidance documents.

Click here to view the transport asset management plan (TAMP) policy and strategy.

Overarching aim

The overarching aim to be adopted by the county council in respect of managing and maintaining highways and transport is:

“To provide a fully integrated, safe, reliable and sustainable network of transport assets, recognising the need to cater for all modes of transportation in a modern and dynamic society without acting to the detriment of future users.”

Key themes

The four key themes that have been adopted for highways management in Northumberland reflect those in the well-maintained highways code of practice.

For safety our aim is to improve standards on the network in order to reduce the number of road traffic casualties.
For serviceability our aim is to improve the condition of transport assets and to develop the extent to support a fully integrated, suitably available and reliable network which contributes to the wider objectives of Northumberland.
For sustainability our aim is to protect the financial and environmental value of the asset by maximising the benefits of partnership working with both internal and external agencies and paying careful consideration to the impacts of all actions on climate change.
For customer service our aim is to ensure that transport assets provide community focussed solutions.

In 2014, the Department for Transport (DfT) undertook a review of the resilience of the UK transport network to extreme weather events. This followed a period of extreme weather in 2013/14, which saw high winds and heavy rain.

A number of recommendations were made as a result, in both the short and longer term. What follows is the key short-term recommendation for the local highway network.

DfT recommendation for local roads
"It is recommended that Local Highway Authorities identify a 'resilient network' to which they will give priority, in order to maintain economic activity and access to key services during extreme weather. Where Authorities have held formal reviews of the winter's events, they should ensure that these are enacted; Authorities which were not affected should nevertheless continue to prepare themselves for future extreme weather."

The primary use of the resilient network will be to support decision making and prioritisation of funding for maintenance and improvements to our highway network. This recommendation aligns with our wider strategies, including the Winter Services Plan, Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, Shoreline Management Plan and the Flood Action Plan.

The development of a resilient network directly supports our Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) vision "To make Northumberland a place that is resilient for the future".

Priority has been given to the greatest risks to the highway network: snow, ice and flooding. A tiered approach to the management of the network has been used, with the national primary network forming the base of the resilient network.

Winter service network and the management of risks related to network resilience

The following show the winter service network and the management of risks related to network resilience:

The Northumberland Resilient Road Network describes the minimum roads within the county (and cross boundary) that are required to be continuously kept open in severe winter weather to maintain economic activity and access to key services during disruptive events.

The Northumberland Resilient Road Network includes all classified ‘A’ roads and roads required to access ‘essential services’.

Click here to view the Northumberland Resilient Road Network Map