Will Britain, the much-loved head of highways and traffic management services at Blackpool Council, has announced plans to retire after 43 years of service.
Mr Britain who is a well known and popular stalwart of the highways community will step down at the end of May.
He started his career as a junior trainee technician in June 1979 and went on to hold a variety of roles, including head of drainage, before being made head of the highways department.
In 2013, he was the driving force behind establishing the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG), a forum for sharing best practice that recently became a community interest company.
In its early days, Mr Britain used the group to promote his Project 30 approach, which boosted up-front investment in the network through prudential borrowing to minimise investment needs in the longer term.
The model has since been replicated by other authorities.
Mr Britain also went on to establish new approaches to engaging SMEs who are now delivering innovations to Blackpool Council and numerous other local highway authorities through Project Amber.
In 2019, he was given a special award from the Department for Transport - presented by the late Steve Berry - for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Highways Sector’. (Pictured above)
Mr Britain said: 'The time is right [for me to step down]. In terms of Blackpool, we’ve built up a really good team. You don’t do anything without teamwork so I can leave knowing that I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve.'
In his parting advice, he said: 'The language that is used around local roads needs to be kept simple. If you are talking to people who are the customers or the residents, then it is about articulating to them what matters. That is things like road condition, drainage, street lighting and all the assets that are on their road. They are real concerns and issues for some people. It is about being proud of their community.
'It’s not just a network, it’s a social network. I think LCRIG has a knack of keeping language simple and embedding innovation into society that’s going to help local roads thrive – not just in terms of condition – but also the way in which people behave.'
His LCRIG colleague and fellow industry grandee Martin Duffy said: 'Those of you who know Will, will be familiar with his exceptional presentation style and the use of his somewhat risqué images, all in the best possible taste of course, his wicked sense of humour and the way he describes how the sun is always cracking the flags in Blackpool – even in darkest winter!
'But more so, you will know him for his honesty, fairness and decency in all of his dealings – the type of reputation we all aspire to.'
