Worcestershire County Council is inviting developers, highway designers and technical specialists to help shape its approach to commuted sums for non-standard highway assets.

According to the council, the approach is intended to ‘support innovation in development design' while ensuring that the long-term maintenance costs of ‘bespoke' highway features are ‘adequately funded'.

Commuted sums are one-off capital payments by infrastructure developers that contribute to future maintenance costs for assets being adopted by a highway authority. Worcestershire defines 'a non-standard' asset as one which 'requires a higher or different level of maintenance than the authority's standard specification would typically incur'.

Worcestershire CC has proposed the use of commuted sums for ‘bespoke or non-standard' assets to allow developers flexibility to deliver innovative and attractive schemes, while avoiding underfunded maintenance liabilities. The commuted sums would offset maintenance costs of ‘distinctive places' that are being created more frequently by developers using specialist materials and high-quality landscaping.

In its proposed policy, Worcestershire CC notes that these commuted sums will not just be used for maintenance of these structures. Instead, its use 'can include inspection, repair, relocation and replacement of an asset over its whole-life cost'.

The request for input was made ahead of the policy being finalised as part of Section 278 and Section 38 agreements.

The council is asking those directly involved in the creation and delivery of such products to review the draft policy and share their view via a short online survey here.

The most recent guidance from ADEPT on commuted sums advises that a whole-life approach to commuted sums should consider: 

  • Hierarchy, network type and location.
  • Specification and materials.
  • Maintenance practices.
  • Frequencies of intervention.
  • Life span and therefore time to replacement

ADEPT also notes that it is essential that money provided as part of commuted sums is 'ring-fenced exclusively for the maintenance of the highway network' and 'preferably allocated to the specific asset categories'.

The council directors' body adds that the protocol should allow annual out-turn reports to help ensure the correct funds are transferred to the respective maintenance budgets for future years.

Those wishing to complete the Worcestershire survey have until 18 December to do so.