Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Place Services.

(a)           That £1.5M of funding from the Department for Transport’s new Structures Fund, be sought for essential concrete repairs and structural maintenance for the A30 Shaftesbury Bridge.

(b)           That Cabinet delegate authority to the Executive Director for Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Place Services, to approve funding allocation to the A30 Shaftesbury Bridge scheme from the Department for Transport Highways Maintenance Block allocation if the project is not eligible for the Structures Fund or maintenance is needed before the Structures Fund is allocated.

(c)           That Cabinet approves the spend within the forward plan (as set out in Appendix A of the Cabinet report of 11 November 2025) for Department for Transport and other externally funded highway improvement and structural maintenance work over £500k, and delegates the making of any contract award for schemes within Appendix A to the Cabinet Member for Place Services in consultation with the Executive Director for Place.

(d)           That Cabinet endorse the overall highway structural maintenance programme as agreed and in accordance with the Officer Scheme of Delegation, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Place Services, and confirm that approval of expenditure for individual schemes below £500k within that programme be made under the existing Officer Scheme of Delegation for Dorset Council.

Reason for the decision

To align the Department for Transport’s multi-year funding with the local objectives of the Dorset Council Plan 2024 to 2029.

To support more effective long term asset management and gain additional Department for Transport investment for Dorset’s highway network. Improving resilience, connectivity and road safety would strongly contribute to the Council’s priorities of growing our economy, communities for all and responding to the climate and nature crisis.

The Cabinet Member for Place Services introduced a report outlining a proposed multi-year funding strategy for highways investment from 2026 to 2030. The strategy included a £15.5 million boost for roads and cycleways, alongside an opportunity to secure £1.5 million from the new National Structures Fund for urgent repairs to the A30 Shaftesbury bridge. Moving to a multi-year approach would enable smarter planning, more efficient road maintenance, and improved resilience to climate challenges.

The Cabinet Member then proposed the recommendations and these were seconded by Cllr S Bartlett.

In response to a question, the Cabinet Member for Place Services confirmed that the Local Transport Plan and the integrated Asset Management Plan would be used to ensure that maintenance was carried out in the areas where it was required.

Decision

(a)           That £1.5M of funding from the Department for Transport’s new Structures Fund, be sought for essential concrete repairs and structural maintenance for the A30 Shaftesbury Bridge.

(b)           That Cabinet delegate authority to the Executive Director for Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Place Services, to approve funding allocation to the A30 Shaftesbury Bridge scheme from the Department for Transport Highways Maintenance Block allocation if the project is not eligible for the Structures Fund or maintenance is needed before the Structures Fund is allocated.

(c)           That Cabinet approves the spend within the forward plan (as set out in Appendix A of the Cabinet report of 11 November 2025) for Department for Transport and other externally funded highway improvement and structural maintenance work over £500k, and delegates the making of any contract award for schemes within Appendix A to the Cabinet Member for Place Services in consultation with the Executive Director for Place.

(d)           That Cabinet endorse the overall highway structural maintenance programme as agreed and in accordance with the Officer Scheme of Delegation, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Place Services, and confirm that approval of expenditure for individual schemes below £500k within that programme be made under the existing Officer Scheme of Delegation for Dorset Council.

Reason for the decision

To align the Department for Transport’s multi-year funding with the local objectives of the Dorset Council Plan 2024 to 2029.

To support more effective long term asset management and gain additional Department for Transport investment for Dorset’s highway network. Improving resilience, connectivity and road safety would strongly contribute to the Council’s priorities of growing our economy, communities for all and responding to the climate and nature crisis.