Agenda item
Provision of Street Name Plates
Minutes:
[The meeting was adjourned between 6.03 and 6.13pm while technical issues with remote attendance software were rectified to enable participation by remote attendees]
A report on Street Name Plates (SNPs) provision within the District was presented by the Environmental Services Manager. It was clarified that the Council had responsibility for the repair and maintenance of Street Name Plates (SNPs) on adopted roads. This included replacement, when necessary, either due to accidental damage, vandalism or normal wear and tear. On new developments, it was the developer’s responsibility to erect SNPs initially to the Council’s specification.
SNPs were usually positioned at the rear of the adopted footway and as near to street corners so they could be easily ready by drivers and pedestrians alike and close to existing streetlamps where possible so they could be illuminated at night.
It was reported that the Council’s contract with the existing approved manufacturer of street name plates was due to finish at the end of this financial year. A quotation exercise was due to be undertaken shortly to ascertain the manufacturer to be contracted for the next three years.
It was explained that SNPs were being ordered in bulk due to the saving on delivery costs that this option provided. Damage to SNPs was usually reported by the general public or Members. After a site inspection to determine what remedial works would be required, the damaged sign might be added to the order for the supply of a new SNP, with the manufacturer taking on average 6 weeks to complete the order after it had been raised. It was added that over the period of Covid lockdowns, there was a backlog of replacement works to SNPs. In addition, the Council’s Minor Works’ Team was understaffed during the past year. These factors had resulted in delays to installation and/or replacement of SNPs, which were reported as now being largely resolved.
Following the presentation of the report, the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services and Community Safety addressed the Board to the effect that considerations of providing a good quality street signage should outweigh the need to wait on replacing signs until a bulk order could be raised. The quality of street signs in some parts of the District was also raised and it was noted that in some cases waiting times of 2-3 months for replacing signs had been reported.
The Environmental Services Manager was invited to respond and noted that minimum quality requirements could be put as a criterion in the next tender. It was noted, however, that quality of street signs in large part depended on the quality of metal that was supplied to the manufacturers in the first place. With regards to placing orders with suppliers for replacement street signs, it was explained that a certain number of replacement requests had to be accumulated before an order was issued to the manufacturer, as separate orders would prove to be uneconomical.
Following the presentation of the report, Members asked a number of questions to which responses were provided as follows:
· Members requested performance data to be provided on the service target times for replacing street signage, average response time to requests, longest waiting times, and current level of backlog on replacement works. Officers undertook to provide Members with a briefing note containing this information.
· Officers had been asked to investigate signage at Saint Godwald’s Crescent, as this was not a through road, but a sign indicating this was currently provided only at one end of the road junction. Officer present undertook to contact Officers to request that a second sign be provided at Saint Godwald’s Crescent.
· The repair of street signs was undertaken by the Council in-house and it took Officers on average one week to repair the sign following a request being submitted. When the sign was damaged and a new sign had to be ordered, the request took around six weeks on average as orders were placed in batches.
· When street signs had raised lettering on press metal signs, the Council could undertake repairs to paintwork and lettering in-house. This was not possible with the more recent design of street signs where lettering was on a flat surface.
· Members commented that when reporting a damaged street name plate, they had to follow up cases directly with Officers as there was currently no feedback system provided as to when the street sign was likely to be ordered and fitted, and no notification as to when works were completed to allow residents to be kept informed. It was reported as a response that Members would soon be able to access the new Environmental Services Portal, where Members would be able to log in and track progress of all their logged requests.
· With regards to using local suppliers, if Members were aware of any specialised manufacturers of street signs in the local area, they encouraged to forward details to Officers so such manufacturers could be considered.
· There was no nation-wide standard around the style of street signage, however, there were design standards concerning lettering and colour of a street sign that had to be adhered to. It was noted that the Council had a standard style as varying styles of street signs from a standard set would lead to increased costs.
· Some Members expressed concern that the upcoming retender of the contract for manufacturing and provision of street name plates to the District could result in a lower quality of signs than currently provided. An Officer responded that the current tender specification defined the quality standard of materials required for signage in the District.
· It was noted that it was not financially viable for the Council to produce its own signs or provide this as a service to other authorities.
Members discussed the annual budget currently allocated for replacement of street name plates and most Members felt that the current budget of £3,900 per year was too low to provide appropriate coverage of replacement and that the budget should be increased on the basis that at least two new signs per Ward would need to be installed per year.
A motion was proposed by Councillor S. Baxter and seconded by Councillor C. Hotham that it be recommended to Cabinet that it consider a report on Street Name Plates including data on the number of signs replaced each year and the newly tendered price per sign (including delivery), and that it be recommended that Cabinet agree to the annual budget for Street Name Plates (SNPs) to be increased to a level suggested as appropriate by Officers.
On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.
RECOMMENDED that
1) a report on Provision of Street Name Plates be presented to Cabinet.
2) the budget allocated for provision of Street Name Plates be reviewed by Cabinet and increased as per Officer recommendation of the aforementioned report.
Supporting documents:
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