Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Highways Purchase of New Machine (Purchase of Vehicles Release No 1)
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Democratic Services
Location: Phase II
Ext: 0693
DDI: 01895 250693
CMD No: 792
To: COUNCILLOR JONATHAN BIANCO
CABINET MEMBER FOR PROPERTY, HIGHWAYS
AND TRANSPORT
COUNCILLOR MARTIN GODDARD
CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE
c.c. All Members of the Property, Highways and
Transport Select Committee
c.c. Poonam Pathak – Place Directorate
c.c. Perry Scott – Corporate Director of Place
Date: 02 May 2023
Non-Key Decision request Form D
CAPITAL RELEASE REPORT (May 2022)
DEPARTMENT: Residents Services
SERVICE AREA/ PROGRAMME: Highways Purchase of New
Reactive Maintenance Machine
RELEASE NO: 1
Dear Cabinet Member
Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet
Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such, the Local
Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England)
Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply.
You should take a decision on or after Thursday 11 May 2023 in order to meet
Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may
wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your
decision on the duplicate memo supplied, and return it to me when you have made your
decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published.
Steve Clarke
Democratic Services Officer
Title of Report: Highways Purchase of New Reactive Maintenance Machine - Release No:1
Decision made:
Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report)
Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report)
Signed ……………………………………………………… Date……………………..
Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport / Cabinet Member for Finance
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 1
Part I - Public
CAPITAL RELEASE REPORT (May 2022)
DEPARTMENT: Residents Services
SERVICE AREA/ PROGRAMME: Highways Purchase of New Reactive
Maintenance Machine
RELEASE NO: 1
Cabinet Member(s) Councillor Jonathan Bianco
Councillor Martin Goddard
Cabinet Portfolio(s) Cabinet Member for Property, Highways & Transport
Cabinet Member for Finance
Officer Contact(s) Poonam Pathak, Place Directorate
Papers with report Appendix A - Capital Release Requests for Approval
Appendix B - Photos
HEADLINES
Summary
To seek Cabinet Member approval for the release of funds to
progress the purchase of new machine for highway reactive
maintenance from Roadmender Asphalt.
Putting our
Residents First
Delivering on the
Council Strategy
2022-2026
This report supports our ambition for residents / the Council of:
Live in a sustainable borough that is carbon neutral.
This report supports our commitments to residents of:
A Green and Sustainable Borough
.
Financial Cost The report seeks the release approval of £44,000 from the 2023/24
Purchase of Vehicles capital budget for purchase of a new machine
package deal from Roadmender Asphalt for the delivery of
highways reactive maintenance work undertaken by the Highways
Department’s in-house crew.
Relevant Select
Committee
Property, Highways & Transport Select Committee
Relevant Ward(s) All
RECOMMENDATION
That the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways & Transport and the Cabinet Member for
Finance agree to the following capital release request of £ 44,000 from the P urchase of
Vehicles capital budget for the purchase of a machine package deal provided by
Roadmender Asphalt which includes a trailer mounted mastic boiler with tool heater and
tools and two KM2-18X infrared heaters for the delivery of highways reactive maintenance
work undertaken by the Highways Department’s in-house crew (Table 1).
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 2
Part I - Public
Reasons for recommendation
The Highways Act 1980 Section 41 requires the Council to maintain highway for which they are
responsible. Section 58 of the act provides a statutory defence to a claim for breach of the Section
41 duty to maintain. The Highway Inspection Policy adopted by the Highways team assists the
Council in ensuring compliance with the Highways Act, which was developed using The Well
Managed Highway Infrastructure - A Code of Practice 2016 (The Code). The policy requires the
Council to have a reactive maintenance regime in place to repair all defects identified during
routine inspections by highway safety inspectors.
The Council has a Rhino Patch vehicle which is used for the permanent repair. This system uses
sustainable infra-red carriageway heating technology which uses machinery to heat the existing
road surface in order to recycle the existing road surface material to be reused in the repair. This
is both more sustainable and cost effective than traditional road patching. Last year, the team
identified that some of the pods and jets needed to be replaced, causing the machine to operate
at a reduced capacity. The suppliers have informed us that these parts are no longer
manufactured and are therefore no longer available.
The team conducted extensive market research and tested two environmentally friendly
machines. The recommendation enables the release of resources in order to progress the
purchase of a new machine for the delivery of highways reactive maintenance work undertaken
by Highways in-house crew while also complying with the Highways Act by repairing the identified
defects within the deadline.
Alternative options considered / risk management.
Continue reactive maintenance work with one Rhino Patch machine that has limited capacity and
contains that, should they require replacement, are now absolute, making it unable to repair the
machine to restore d functionality. The work takes longer to complete, which is inefficient and
ineffective. This will result in more work being allocated to the Highways Term Service Contractor,
affecting the budget.
Select Committee comments
The Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee have been undertaking a review during
2022/23 on "Attaining Best Practice and Value for the Council’s Highways Resurfacing
Programme” and have heard about the different types of machinery available as part of their
review. Their findings will come to Cabinet later in 2023.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Following the market search, the team trialled two types of machines, which are listed below and
photos are also shown in Appendix B.
1. Thermal Road Repair Ltd (https://www.thermalroadrepairs.com/)
2. Roadmender Asphalt (Roadmender Asphalt – Paving the road to Net Zero)
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 3
Part I - Public
1. Thermal Road Repair Ltd (https://www.thermalroadrepairs.com/)
This is similar technology to the existing Rhino machine, which is a thermal heat process that
uses specialised computer equipment to ensure roads are reformed to a very high standard. This
is more modern. This is a sustainable method and material, with little impact on the environment
and network. The process results in jointless repairs that use 80- 90% recycled materials in situ,
reducing landfill waste and carbon footprint.
The heater machine can be purchased separately, but it is recommended that to purchase the
machine as well because it is a complete self-contained solution that enables best practise in all
areas of the industry.
Cost
Multi Utility Vehicles with 2m x 1m Asphalt Repair
Total price Vehicle - £166,000
Total Price 2m x 1m Heater - £49,000
2. Roadmender Asphalt (Roadmender Asphalt – Paving the road to Net Zero)
Roadmender Elastomac is the ultimate sustainable, cost effective, permanent solutions for
patching, crack and joint repairs. Roadmender Elastomac is an eco- friendly, close to carbon
negative road repair material that replaces fossil fuel bitumen with recycled rubber from end- of-
life tyres otherwise destined for incineration or disposal. Unlike conventional repairs that require
potholes to be saw cut and excavated purely to accommodate the compaction requirements of
using asphalt, Elastomac is a flowable material that is simply poured into and over the top of
defects in a fraction of the time.
Once applied, the adhesive, flexible material welds itself to the existing road surface, locking out
any potential for the ingress of water while extending the life of the road for years to come. In
addition to its sustainability credentials, the process is more efficient than conventional repairs,
reducing material movement and waste by 90%, lowering costs, and avoiding unnecessar y
disruption. ( https://youtu.be/fhYSPmIlHmk
). Elastomac works on both asphalt and concrete
roads and is designed for repairs to cracks, joints, potholes, patching, surrounds to iron work,
fretting, wheel rutting, alligator cracking, kerb channels and speed ramps.
Roadmender Asphalt has also developed an infrared heater similar to the current Rhino Patch
Machine. The quote provided by the supplier is a package if the Council purchases the entire set
because the cost of purchasing an infrared machine on its own is much higher, so the package
deal provides a cost savings.
Officers are therefore recommending option 2. The cost in Table 1 below have been calculated
using the quote provided by the manufacturer:.
Table 1: Recommended Cost Plan from the supplier - Roadmender Asphalt
Item Cost (£)
Trailer mounted mastic boiler with tool heater and tools 32,000
2x KM2-18X infrared heater (£6,000 each) 12,000
Total Cost 44,000
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 4
Part I - Public
Because of the Rihno Patch Machine's reduced capacity, repair s are currently taking longer to
complete. Although there is no current backlog of work, this is having an effect on completion. If
this machine is not purchased soon, it will have an impact on service delivery as well as the
highways budget because the team will have to assign more work to term service contractors in
order to complete the defects within deadline.
Financial Implications
Purchase of Vehicles Budget 2023/24 £2,000k, Previously Released £nil , Release
Requested £44k
A new highways reactive maintenance machine is required to replace the existing machinery
which has aging parts resulting in below capacity performance. Following testing of two
equipment providers, it is proposed to purchase the Roadmender Asphalt solution at a cost of
£44k and this can be funded from the £2,000k 2023/24 Purchase of Vehicles capital programme
budget, financed by Council resources.
The purchase of the new machine will protect service delivery in the maintenance of the Borough’s
highways.
RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION
The benefit or impact upon Hillingdon residents, service users and communities
The maintenance of carriageways inevitably involves the ad hoc repair of road surface defects
such as potholes, surface deterioration, edge failure, cracking, crazing, rutting, and subsidence.
The machine recommended will assist the team to repair the defects quicker and efficiently as
well as eco-friendly repair system that lowers the carbon footprint of patch repairs by 85%. This
material is prepared using end-of-life waste tyres otherwise destined for incineration, with 9 end-
of-life waste tyres recycled into each tonne. The infrared machine will also assist in lowering
carbon emissions by recycling the existing tarmac surface for repair.
This will improve the serviceability of the highway network for the benefit of residents and other
road users.
CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS
Corporate Finance
Corporate finance notes that the proposed acquisition will be funded from the Purchase of
Vehicles 2023/24 capital budget, financed by Council resources.
Legal
Legal Services confirm that the purchase of this equipment will assist the C ouncil in complying
with its duty to maintain highways pursuant to section 41 of the H ighways Act 1980. Legal
Services also confirm that the proposed purchase complies with the C ouncil’s P rocurement
Standing Orders and that there are no legal impediments to authorising the capital release.
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 5
Part I - Public
Capital Release Protocol
The release of all capital funds, and certain revenue funds, held by the Council is to be made by
a formal democratic decision (by the Cabinet Member for Finance and other relevant Cabinet
Members). No expenditure can be placed or committed by officers until this formal approval is
given by Democratic Services. Release of funds must be for identified projects only and strictly
not for general release of funds for projects to be identified at a later date. No block releases of
capital will be allowed, except if authorised by the Leader of the Council in advance to Corporate
Finance. The release of funds will only be made if previous Council, Cabinet or Cabinet Member
agreement has been given to the project and only if there is an approved budget. No contract
should be signed until clearance is given to the release of capital funds by way of the formal
decision-making process detailed below.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
NIL.
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 6
Part I - Public
APPENDIX A - CAPITAL RELEASE REQUESTS FOR APPROVAL
Purchase of Vehicles 2023/24
Location
Project /
Expenditure
Title
Information
Funds
Release
Sought
£000’s
Approve Hold
More
Informati
on
Required
Borough wide
Purchase of
new machine
from
Roadmender
Asphalt.
Required for
highway reactive
maintenance 44
Total seeking release 44
Previously released 0
Budget 2,000
Remaining budget 1,956
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 7
Part I - Public
APPENDIX B - PHOTOS
Thermal Road Repair Ltd
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 8
Part I - Public
Roadmender Asphalt
Capital Release Report – 02 May 2023 Page 9
Part I - Public
View Decision / Minutes Text
Executive Decision Notice – 11 May 2023 Page 1
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE
PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by
Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon:
Title of decision
CAPITAL RELEASE REPORT (May 2023)
DEPARTMENT: Residents Services
SERVICE AREA/ PROGRAMME: Highways Purchase of
New Reactive Maintenance Machine
RELEASE NO: 1
Reference No. 792
Date of decision Thursday 11 May 2023
Call-in expiry date Thursday 18 May 2023
Relevant Select
Committee
Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee
Relevant Wards All
Decision made
Cabinet Members
making the decision
Councillor Jonathan Bianco – Cabinet Member for Property,
Highways and Transport
Councillor Martin Goddard – Cabinet Member for Finance
Approved
That the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways &
Transport and the Cabinet Member for Finance agree d to
the capital release request of £44,000 from the Purchase of
Vehicles capital budget for the purchase of a machine
package deal provided by Roadmender Asphalt which
includes a trailer mounted mastic boiler with tool heater and
tools and two KM2 -18X infr
ared heaters for the delivery of
highways reactive maintenance work undertaken by the
Highways Department’s in-house crew.
Reason for decision The Council’s existing Rhino Patch vehicle which was used for
reactive highways repair had come to the end of its usable life
and parts for the vehicle were no longer manufactured. Officers
conducted extensive market research and testing to progress
the purchase of a new alternative machine for the delivery of
highways reactive maintenance work undertaken by Highways
in-house crew while also complying with the Highways Act by
repairing the identified defects within the deadline.
Alternative options
considered and
rejected
To c ontinue reactive maintenance work with the one Rhino
Patch machine that had limited capacity and contain ed parts
that, should they require replacement, were now obsolete.
Classification Part I - Public
Executive Decision Notice – 11 May 2023 Page 2
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
Link to associated
report
Report
Relevant Officer
contact & Directorate
Poonam Pathak, Place Directorate
Any interest declared
by the Cabinet
Member(s) /
dispensation granted
N/A
Implementation of decision & scrutiny call-in
[Internal Use only]
When can this
decision be
implemented by
officers?
Officers can implement Cabinet Member decision in this notice
only from the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period which is:
5pm on Thursday 18 May 2023
However, this is subject to the decision not being called in by
Councillors on the relevant Select Committee. Upon receipt of a
valid call-in request, Democratic Services will immediately advise
the relevant officer(s) and the decision must then be put on hold.
Councillor scrutiny
call-in of this
decision
Councillors on the relevant Select Committee shown in this notice
may request to call -in this decision. The request must be before
the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period above.
Councillors should use the Scrutiny Call -in App (link below) on
their devices to initiate any call-in request. Further advice can be
sought from Democratic Services if required:
Scrutiny Call-In - Power Apps (secure)
Further information These decisions, where applicable, have been taken under The
Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and
Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.
This is the formal notice by the Council of the above executive
decision, including links to the reports where applicable.
If you would like more information on this decision, please contact
Democratic Services on 01895 250636 or email:
democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk.
Circulation of this decision notice is to a variety of people including
Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Officers, Group
Secretariats and the Public. Copies are also placed on the
Council’s website.
Democratic Services
London Borough of Hillingdon
Civic Centre
High Street
Executive Decision Notice – 11 May 2023 Page 3
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
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