ITEM CA11
CABINET
– 18 OCTOBER 2005
TRANSPORT
CAPITAL PROGRAMME
Report
by Head of Transport
Introduction
- This report gives
an assessment of performance in implementing the Transport Capital Programme
and forecasts that the likely outturn will closely match the intentions
at the start of the year. Delivery of the programme is an important
part of the Department for Transport’s assessment of the performance
of the Transport service and is a factor in their decisions on future
capital funding for Transport in Oxfordshire.
- The report concentrates
almost exclusively on this year’s programme. This is because the programme
for future years is being considered as part of the development of the
second Local Transport Plan.
- The report does
however look to the future in reporting on the work done to find a way
of accelerating the work on Controlled Parking Zones in Oxford and concludes
that earlier implementation of these is possible.
- The Cabinet should
also be aware that the 2006/07 programme, which it approved on 7 June
2005 for inclusion in the Provisional Local Transport Plan, now needs
amendment because of the likely reduction in funding expected as a result
of new, formula based allocations. We shall report separately on this
in the New Year, in the context of the Local Transport Plan approval
process.
Background
- The total value
of the Environment & Economy capital programme is £41.759 million
including two small non-Transport schemes. The Transport schemes total
is £41.256 million. Annex 1 (download
as .xls file) gives the breakdown of this into the various programme
areas.
- The largest funding
block for the programme is the Government’s Supported Capital Expenditure
(Revenue) (SCE(R)) allocation for Transport of £30.878 million. This
is time limited to 2005/06 (with one agreed exception for an A40 maintenance
scheme). Other sources of funding are developer contributions, On-Street
Parking Surplus, repayment of revenue funds for loans from Transport
capital in earlier years, grants and (for a highway depot replacement
scheme) capital receipts. Annex 2 (download
as .xls file) gives a breakdown of the use of these funding
sources across the programme areas. The imperative is to ensure that
the SCE(R) is spent in the year and our monitoring systems are designed
to track expenditure from each source to ensure that this is done.
- There are 273
schemes under the Integrated Transport Schemes heading being worked
on this year of which 127 are planned to be built or started this year
with the remainder in various stages of design. There are 94 individually
listed maintenance schemes (including 26 drought damage repair schemes
funded by a one-off amount of £3.691 million within the SCE(R) total
for this purpose) as well as blocks of maintenance funding for surface
dressing, footway and patching works.
Performance Assessment
- Based on all the
available current information, the forecast is that the programme will
be delivered very much as intended and the SCE(R) spent. However, there
are some risks around particular larger schemes. The performance data
and the risks are discussed below.
- The forecast expenditure
overall and for each programme area is given in Annex 1 (download
as .xls file)which shows that the budget is expected to be spent.
This forecast is built up from information for each individual scheme
which is regularly reviewed and kept up to date by the project managers.
The coincidence of overall budget and outturn expenditure in the summary
data hides variations in individual scheme costs and reflects the role
of project managers in keeping overall expenditure within budgets. Expenditure
on 12 schemes is forecast to be below the budget by 10% or more and
on 20 schemes to be above by 10% or more.
- Although this
variability is not having an effect on the programme this year, the
size of some variations is a concern. Improving the accuracy of estimating,
particularly in the early stages of a project, is something which we
are pursuing internally and with our consultants. This is a also a topic
to be pursued as one of those in the Action Plan agreed as a joint response
to the Cornmarket Scrutiny Review.
- Annex 3
(download as .xls file) looks
at schemes which are planned to be built (or started) this year and
forecasts that these are on programme except for concerns about the
Abingdon and Henley town centre schemes. This monitoring uses the information
available from the much improved and developed master programming system
to compare the number of days of planned construction activity with
those that have actually taken place and so form a view as to the likely
outturn position.
- Performance on
completed schemes is measured by a system of Key Performance Indicators
which include design cost and time reliability and construction cost
and time reliability. These are reported quarterly by Jacobs Babtie,
our engineering consultant, and the latest report shows that the average
of all returns is within the range of variation looked for. However,
the sample of schemes measuring construction cost and time reliability
is small.
- Taking all information
into account, it looks at this point as though the targets in the Transport
Service Plan to build 80% of the schemes in the programme and for 80%
of those schemes to be within +/- 20% of the costs at works order stage,
should be met.
Risks on Specific Schemes
- There are 3 large
schemes which have been completed but on which the final costs have
yet to be agreed with the contractor. (These are Hennef Way, Skimmingdish
Lane and Cornmarket). A total of £3.1 million has been included in the
programme budgets to cover settlement of these accounts but it is by
no means certain that this will be achieved within the year and we do
not want to prejudice our negotiations by rushing to settle. This amount
is financed from sources other than SCE(R) so the uncertainty does not
put spending of SCE(R) at risk.
- Didcot - Milton
Heights Stage 2 has a budget of £600,000 to cover land acquisition costs,
landscaping works, and claims for loss of value on properties. The land
and compensation costs are uncertain but the scheme is financed from
developer contributions so does not pose a risk to SCE(R) spend.
- Within the Integrated
Transport schemes, Annex 3 (download
as .xls file) mentions concerns over land acquisition for the
Abingdon Town Centre scheme but we believe these have now been overcome.
Agreeing the consultation arrangements for the Henley Town Centre scheme
caused some delay but the consultation exercise has now taken place.
- Thornhill Park
& Ride interchange scheme has been delayed by looking for alternative
designs to reduce the cost of proposed resurfacing of the car park area
and keep the estimated cost within the original budget. A revised Project
Approval will be submitted in December which omits any substantial work
on the parking area. Some SCE(R) is allocated to this scheme and is
likely to be spent but the delay does not put other financing at risk.
- One of the schemes
in the bridge strengthening programme (Oxhey Lane Bridge, Cropredy -
£400,000) has been agreed with Network Rail for implementation this
year but this depends on Network Rail completing their design and making
a start as agreed. (The amount specified is the County Council’s agreed
contribution.)
Larger Schemes that have
Avoided Potential Risks
- In Oxford, both
Cowley Road and Abingdon Road schemes are complex schemes to build,
with a considerable potential for problems, but both are proceeding
to a successful conclusion as programmed, thanks to excellent teamwork
by those involved in the projects.
- The West End Link
Road Stage 1 in Witney had some early problems with diversions of statutory
undertakers mains and services but the project remains on programme
and within the budget provision.
- Work on the design
of Green Road roundabout remodelling with early contractor involvement
is promising and looks as though the scheme estimate is still accurate.
The scheme has been expanded to include the structural maintenance of
the length of the A40 from the roundabout to the Thornhill Park &
Ride entrance. The maintenance work is funded by part of a ringfenced
SCE(R) allocation for A40 in the 2005/06 award with approval to take
this over to 2006/07.
Implementation of Controlled
Parking Zones in Oxford
- The Cabinet asked
for ways of speeding up implementation of these schemes to be investigated,
particularly in North East Oxford. The conclusion of our investigation
is that the schemes in Headington and Marston can be completed 2 years
earlier than originally planned: by 2009 instead of 2011. The new programme
would mean that for most of this period 7 schemes will be worked on
simultaneously, and at one point 8 schemes. All these would of course
be subject to the statutory process of consultation and consideration
of any representations made.
- The earliest that
any of the new schemes could be brought in is the last quarter of 2007.
This would be The Lakes followed by Northway and Marston South by late
Summer 2008. Wood Farm, Lye Valley and Marston North would be completed
in the second half of 2009.
- To achieve this
acceleration will require more consultant and council staff to be put
on these schemes. It has been difficult to recruit and retain staff
in the Transport Projects Implementation Parking Team and if this faster
progress is to be achieved, it is likely that either staff will have
to be taken off other work or further staff provided by the consultant
will need to be seconded to the team to work with them.
- The accelerated
programme will need to be built into the second Local Transport Plan
and the funding arranged accordingly to support the new timetable. Developer
funding is available to pay for a considerable proportion of the estimated
costs but some SCE( R) support will be needed. If the Cabinet agree
that they want the Controlled Parking Zones to follow the faster timetable
then the use of SCE (R) in the Local Transport Plan will have to reflect
this.
RECOMMENDATION
- The Cabinet
is RECOMMENDED:
- to
note the progress and forecast on implementation of the 2005/06
Transport capital programme;
- to
agree the accelerated programme for Controlled Parking Zones
in Oxford and the necessary funding of these schemes as part
of the future Local Transport Plan programme.
STEVE
HOWELL
Head of Transport
Background
papers: Nil
Contact
officer: Richard Dix Tel: 01865 815663
October
2005
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