Highway Asset Management Strategy

1. Introduction

The practice of highway asset management is concerned with making the most effective use of valuable infrastructure such as roads, bridges and street lighting. It involves long-term planning and the efficient use of resources to manage risk and deliver performance outcomes in a sustainable way. The Institute of Asset Management defines the discipline as “the combined activity of an organisation to realise value from its assets”.

This Strategy sets out how Devon County Council (DCC) will manage its highway infrastructure over the four-year period aligned to its Strategic Plan, Building a positive future for Devon where everyone thrives (2025–2029). It also reflects the Department for Transport’s 2026–2030 highway maintenance funding settlement, which provides an opportunity to strengthen long-term network resilience following years of underinvestment and increasing reliance on short-term repair approaches.

The Strategy forms part of a wider framework of asset management documents:

• Asset Management Policy – a high-level commitment setting out the principles for managing assets to deliver organisational objectives
• Asset Management Strategy – this document, which establishes the overarching approach to managing highway assets and sets clear objectives for their long-term performance and sustainability
• Asset Management Plan and Annexes – detailed documents that define the actions, resources and programmes required to deliver the Strategy

Together, these documents provide a structured and consistent approach to asset management. This Strategy specifically outlines how the Council will achieve its long-term objectives for the highway network, ensuring compliance with statutory duties, meeting stakeholder expectations and maintaining overall performance, while recognising the constraints of available funding and resources.

This Strategy forms part of a structured Asset Management Framework linking corporate priorities, policy, strategy, plans and delivery. Lifecycle planning, performance monitoring and risk management provide a clear line of sight between long-term objectives and day-to-day operational activity, ensuring that decisions are evidence-based, proportionate and aligned to available resources.

This Strategy has been developed in accordance with the principles of the UKRLG Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice (2026 update), adopting a risk-based, evidence-led approach to asset management and reflecting national expectations for governance, resilience, sustainability and customer-focused service delivery.

The Council recognises that effective asset management requires periodic review to reflect changing legislation, national guidance, funding arrangements, technologies, stakeholder expectations and organisational priorities. The Asset Management Policy and Asset Management Strategy will therefore be formally reviewed on a regular basis and updated where necessary through the Council’s governance arrangements to ensure they remain current, evidence-led and aligned with best practice.

2. Strategic Context and Drivers

2.1 Strategic Influences

This Strategy is shaped by a combination of local, regional and national influences. These include the Council’s Strategic Plan, relevant legislation and statutory guidance, recognised good practice in highway asset management, and the opportunities presented by emerging technologies and innovation within the sector. Together, these influences provide the context within which the Council must manage its highway network and determine priorities for investment and service delivery.

2.2 Council Strategic Plan Priorities

Devon County Council’s Strategic Plan 2025–2029 sets out a vision of building a positive future for Devon where everyone thrives. The highway service contributes directly to this ambition by maintaining and improving infrastructure that supports safe, sustainable and reliable movement for residents, communities and businesses.

Positive Futures for Our Young People

• Maintain safe routes to schools and colleges.
• Develop walking and cycling infrastructure to promote active travel.
• Provide apprenticeships and training opportunities through highway contracts.

Stronger Communities and Safer Places

• Ensure a safe and reliable highway network for all communities.
• Respond promptly to safety-critical defects and storm damage.
• Engage with Parish Councils and local stakeholders in programme planning.

Supporting Independence and Dignity

• Maintain accessible footways and crossings for older and disabled residents.
• Support active travel options to enable independent mobility.
• Incorporate inclusive design principles in highway improvements.

Continuous Improvement of Services

• Use asset management data and performance reviews to inform decisions.
• Capture lessons learned and refine processes annually.
• Trial innovative materials and techniques to improve efficiency and sustainability.

A Green Devon for Future Generations

• Embed carbon reduction measures in all programmes.
• Use low-carbon materials and recycled content in highway works.
• Support biodiversity through verge management and minimise environmental intrusion.

Economic Inclusion and Local Prosperity

• Engage local SMEs through framework contracts to support the Devon economy.
• Maintain a resilient network to enable business connectivity and growth.

Deliver infrastructure improvements that reduce congestion and support sustainable transport.

2.3 Stakeholder and Community Engagement

The Council’s highway service operates within a broad stakeholder environment that includes residents, elected Members, parish and town councils, emergency services, transport operators, businesses, landowners and national organisations. Understanding the needs and experience of these groups is an important part of effective asset management.

The Council has participated in the National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction Survey for a number of years. This provides valuable insight into public perceptions of highway services and supports strategic planning, budget development and service improvement. The service also continues to strengthen collaboration with the Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) through targeted engagement activity designed to improve understanding of policies, explain operational constraints and support appropriate community self-help initiatives.

Feedback gathered through surveys, Member briefings, parish and town council engagement and wider community events is considered alongside technical asset data when developing programmes and reviewing service priorities. This helps ensure that decisions reflect both evidence and local experience, supporting a balanced and risk-based approach to investment.

Customer and stakeholder insight is used alongside asset data and technical evidence to inform levels of service, investment priorities and programme development, ensuring that decisions reflect both network need and user experience.

2.4 Benchmarking and Asset Management Maturity

The Council actively participates in sector benchmarking and collaborative improvement activity in order to compare performance, identify good practice and strengthen its asset management approach. This includes involvement in the South West Highways Alliance, where authorities work together through technical subgroups to share learning and compare performance across a range of highway asset areas.

The Council also participates in the Future Highways Research Group, an industry-led initiative that supports innovation, research and the development of practical tools to address current and future highway service challenges. Through this and other sector partnerships, the Council is able to test new approaches, learn from peers and strengthen its strategic and operational maturity.

In 2024, the Council undertook a facilitated self-reflection assessment as part of the Future Highways Research Group’s Value for Money Benchmarking Club. This considered effectiveness, efficiency, economy and strategic effectiveness, and resulted in both a benchmarked position score and a potential position score to support improvement planning. In the same year, the Council also completed a carbon-focused value for money assessment, providing a baseline against which progress can be monitored.

Taken together, these activities indicate that the Council is operating at a strong and improving level of asset management maturity. Key strengths include the use of robust asset data, well-established risk-based decision-making, increasing cross-asset consideration and a clear commitment to innovation and sustainability. Areas for continued development include enhancing whole-life cost modelling, strengthening the integration of financial and performance planning, and improving consistency of practice across all asset groups.

The Council also works collaboratively with neighbouring authorities and regional partners to promote consistency in levels of service and network management across administrative boundaries, recognising that highway users experience the network as a whole.

3. Network Challenges and Evidence Base

3.1 Future Demand and Network Growth

The Council’s highway asset base continues to grow as new developments are adopted into the highway network. Over the past five years, an additional 34 kilometres of carriageway have been adopted, increasing the scale of the assets for which the Council is responsible and creating additional inspection, maintenance and long-term funding requirements. This growth reinforces the need for sustainable funding, robust adoption standards and effective lifecycle planning.

3.2 Funding and Financial Context

Highway maintenance funding in England is shaped by national policy, formula allocations and local funding decisions. In practice, the Council must balance the immediate need to keep the network safe and operational with the longer-term need to preserve asset condition and prevent avoidable deterioration.

• Revenue funding – sourced from Council Tax, Business Rates, and Central Government contributions, is used to cover the day-to-day operational activities required to keep the highway network safe and functional. These activities maintain the existing condition of assets but do not enhance their value. Typical examples include safety inspections and repairs, drainage cleaning, grass cutting, and winter maintenance services.
• Capital funding – provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) through a formula based on road length and supplemented by top-up grants, is allocated for investment in infrastructure improvements that extend the life or enhance the value of highway assets. This includes major works such as carriageway resurfacing, large-scale drainage schemes, and footway reconstruction, ensuring the network remains resilient and fit for purpose over the long term.

3.2.1 National Context

National policy has increasingly emphasised preventative maintenance, greater transparency through performance reporting, and stronger consideration of carbon reduction and resilience. The annual ALARM Survey continues to highlight the scale of the maintenance challenge facing local roads in England and Wales. The 2025 survey reported that the one-time cost of bringing the network to an ideal standard had risen to £16.81 billion, the highest figure recorded to date, and estimated that it would take 12 years to address even with full funding.

Devon reflects this wider national picture. In 2024, the Council commissioned W.D.M. Limited to model the future condition of Devon’s carriageway network using the latest SCANNER data. The purpose was to assess the impact of varying investment levels on network condition and to inform long-term planning. The modelling provided key outputs:

• estimated backlog of £390 million—the cost to address all sections in red condition
• steady-state funding requirement of £102 million per year to maintain current condition levels over the next decade

To illustrate the sustained funding gap experienced by the Council, the following represents the total capital funding received to maintain all its highway assets and not just carriageways which is what the figures above relate to.

Year	Total capital funding received
2025/26	£83.640 million
2024/25	£60.876 million
2023/24	£68.877 million
2022/23	£52.823 million
2021/22	£75.001 million

3.2.2 Local Funding Position

Historic levels of investment have not been sufficient to maintain all parts of the network at the optimal point in their lifecycle, resulting in increased deterioration and reduced opportunities for timely preventative intervention. When funding falls short of what is needed to maintain assets at the right point in their lifecycle, deterioration accelerates and more sections of the network move into a condition where major intervention is required. This increases backlog, limits the ability to invest in preventative maintenance and drives greater dependence on short-term reactive repairs.

The consequences extend beyond physical condition alone. Underfunding increases service risk, weakens resilience, reduces network availability, affects connectivity and undermines public confidence. It also limits the Council’s ability to make progress against wider objectives such as climate resilience, carbon reduction and support for economic growth.

3.2.3 Future Funding Landscape

The future funding landscape is more positive than in recent years. The Department for Transport’s 2026–2030 capital settlement provides greater certainty for long-term planning and marks a significant move away from the short-term and reactive funding cycles that have historically constrained effective asset management.

Alongside the national settlement, the Council has committed additional local investment to support recovery of the network and strengthen its asset management approach. This includes an additional £15 million in 2026/27, followed by £10 million per year for the subsequent three years, funded from Council reserves. This investment is intended to complement national funding, reduce risk, support earlier intervention and improve long-term outcomes for the network.

The Council will also continue to pursue external funding opportunities where these can enhance delivery, accelerate investment or support innovation and resilience. Greater certainty of funding is welcome and represents an important opportunity. However, it does not remove the legacy of historic underinvestment, nor does it provide an immediate solution to the scale of deterioration that has accumulated over many years.

In summary, while recent funding improvements are welcome and provide greater certainty for forward planning, current investment levels remain below those required to fully address the existing backlog or achieve a steady-state position across the wider asset base. The Council’s approach is therefore focused on stabilising network condition, managing risk, and targeting investment where it will deliver the greatest long-term benefit, while creating the conditions for a gradual shift towards more preventative maintenance.

3.3 Asset Condition and Performance

Condition data is a key input to decision-making, providing objective evidence of asset performance and deterioration across the network. Devon has historically gone beyond this minimum requirement by collecting and reporting condition data across the full carriageway network, including unclassified roads, which account for a significant proportion of the network. To do this, the Council commissions external SCANNER surveys using laser-based technology.

Survey outputs are used to derive condition indicators that have historically been presented in three broad bands: green (no further investigation or treatment required), amber (maintenance may soon be required) and red (maintenance should be considered). From 2026/27, a new national methodology based on BSI PAS 2161 will be introduced, requiring authorities to use accredited suppliers and report condition across five categories rather than three. This will provide a more granular national picture of highway condition.

Condition data is an essential input into asset management, but it is not the only factor that determines investment decisions. Survey outputs must be considered alongside local needs, safety, resilience, network function and user impact. The Council therefore continues to apply condition information within a broader risk-based decision-making framework.

The Council also recognises the pace of technological development in condition intelligence, digital systems and artificial intelligence-supported survey methods. To provide governance and oversight in this area, the Council has established a Digital Innovation Assessment Group, which reviews developments in the market, assesses potential opportunities and coordinates appropriate trials. The move to PAS 2161, together with wider innovation in digital technology, provides an opportunity to continue improving the quality, value and usefulness of asset condition information. This ensures that condition data informs, but does not solely determine, investment decisions, which are taken within a wider risk-based framework.

Information and asset data are managed through structured systems and processes to ensure quality, accessibility, security and consistency. Data requirements and quality are periodically reviewed to ensure they remain proportionate and sufficient to support effective, risk-based decision making.

The Council maintains asset inventories, condition information and supporting performance data across its principal highway asset groups. Information is managed through corporate and specialist asset management systems and is periodically reviewed to ensure it remains proportionate, reliable and sufficient to support risk-based decision-making, lifecycle planning, performance monitoring, investment planning and statutory reporting requirements. Asset data forms a critical part of the evidence base used to support prioritisation and long-term stewardship of the highway network.

3.4 Risk Management Framework

Risk management is central to the Council’s approach to highway asset management and underpins decision-making across policy, planning, delivery and performance review. The Council applies a comprehensive risk-based approach to managing the highway network, ensuring that investment priorities and maintenance decisions reflect safety, consequence, criticality and available resources.

The Council’s approach reflects a defined risk appetite, ensuring that available resources are targeted towards managing the most significant risks to safety, serviceability, sustainability and customer outcomes.

3.4.1 Corporate Risk Integration

Risk management within the highways service is embedded in the Council’s wider corporate framework. Risks are recorded and monitored through corporate and service-level risk registers, with regular reviews to ensure mitigation measures remain effective. This integration supports transparency and accountability in decision-making.

3.4.2 Data-Driven Risk Assessment

The Council continually collects and analyses asset data through inspections, surveys, and reports. This evidence-based process enables accurate assessment of asset condition, criticality, and lifecycle performance, informing maintenance priorities and investment strategies to minimize risk to users and stakeholders.

3.4.3 Inspection and Maintenance Regimes

Inspection frequencies and maintenance standards are determined through risk assessment, considering factors such as traffic type, asset condition, and safety requirements. Safety inspections, ad hoc checks, and condition surveys form the foundation of the Council’s risk-based maintenance regime, ensuring timely identification and repair of defects.

3.4.4 Competence and Continuous Improvement

The Council recognises that effective highway asset management depends upon maintaining appropriate levels of competence, knowledge and professional capability. Competence requirements are defined for key roles and supported through training, professional development, industry engagement, knowledge sharing and succession planning. Staff competency is maintained through structured development and appraisal processes, helping to ensure that risk-based decision-making, asset management practices and technical standards remain effective and aligned with evolving best practice.

4. Strategic Asset Management Approach

The evidence set out in Section 3 demonstrates that the highway network continues to reflect the long-term effects of historic underinvestment, including backlog growth, increasing maintenance need and pressure on reactive maintenance. At the same time, the funding outlook is becoming more stable, providing the Council with an opportunity to move from managing decline towards stabilising the network and, over time, increasing the use of preventative maintenance.

Levels of service are defined through a risk-based framework, reflecting network hierarchy, asset condition, user need, consequence of failure and available funding. Detailed service standards are set out within the Asset Management Plan and its annexes and are subject to periodic review to ensure ongoing alignment with risk, performance and affordability.

Lifecycle planning is a fundamental component of the Council’s asset management approach. Lifecycle plans are maintained for principal asset groups and are used to understand deterioration, evaluate intervention options, assess whole-life costs, support long-term financial planning and inform investment decisions. This enables the Council to balance preventative, reactive and renewal activities in a manner that seeks to optimise asset performance, resilience and value for money throughout the asset lifecycle.

The Council’s approach is built around four core principles:

4.1 Network Hierarchy and Prioritisation

Constraints on funding and resources mean that it is not possible to maintain every part of the network to the same standard. 

The Council will prioritise investment on the most critical parts of the network, including those that support economic activity, provide access to essential services or are key to network resilience. 

While prioritisation of the most strategic parts of the network is necessary to manage risk and maintain connectivity, the Council recognises the importance of the wider minor road network to local communities, the rural economy and access to services. Safety inspections, defect response and targeted preventative interventions will continue across all road classes, with investment decisions guided by risk, condition and local context rather than classification alone. This balanced approach seeks to protect critical routes while managing the wider network responsibly within available resources.

Network hierarchies are defined across all asset groups, including carriageways, footways, cycleways, structures, lighting and public rights of way. These hierarchies are periodically reviewed to reflect changes in use, demand, criticality and risk, ensuring that they remain current and support effective prioritisation.

4.2 Preventative Maintenance Strategy

Through the appropriate planned application of thin surface treatments prior to the development of surface and structural defects, road conditions can be managed and maintained far more cost effectively, as well as road lifespans extended – potentially indefinitely. The Council continues to invest in such programmes as surface dressing and developing asset intelligence to ensure that timely preventative interventions take place. This transition will be incremental, reflecting the current condition of the network, but represents a clear strategic shift away from reliance on reactive maintenance wherever earlier intervention is viable.

4.3 Whole lifecycle approach

The Council will apply a whole lifecycle approach to managing highway assets, recognising that long-term performance and value are best achieved by treating the network as an integrated system rather than as individual components. The Council aims to, where possible, combine maintenance functions within single road closures, minimising disruption and maximising value for money. 

4.4 Innovation and Continuous Improvement

The Council will promote innovation and continuous improvement to enhance value, efficiency, resilience and sustainability across the highway service.

Like all authorities, Devon is facing significant financial pressures. The additional effects of climate change bring real added challenges for the Council in maintaining its assets. The Highways and Infrastructure Development Service has continued to focus on innovation and engagement with neighbours and peers to ensure it maximises efficiency and effectiveness to drive value for money. 

The Council is fortunate to have maintained its materials laboratory. Established in 1952 to monitor the quality of asphalt being produced in the County, it continues to be a leading light nationally and UKAS accredited since 1989. As well as monitoring performance and undertaking investigations the materials laboratory takes the lead on evaluation of new trials and adding vital governance through a Technical Appraisal Panel (TAP).

The Council applies appropriate governance arrangements to the assessment of emerging technologies, materials and delivery practices. Innovations are evaluated before wider adoption and, where demonstrated to provide measurable benefits in terms of performance, resilience, safety, carbon reduction, efficiency or value for money, may be incorporated into routine operational practice. Learning from innovation activity is shared across the service and, where appropriate, with industry partners and professional networks.

5. Key Strategic Themes and Policy Positions

The following themes set out the Council’s principal policy positions for applying the strategic approach described above across the highway asset base.

5.1 Approach to the minor road network

The Council’s approach to the minor road network is focused on active management rather than withdrawal of service.

Despite the Council’s strategies and innovations, the long-term underinvestment in the highway network has resulted in a gradual decline, particularly across the minor road network. This has led to an increasing reliance on reactive, short-term treatments such as patching and pothole repairs. While these methods provide effective short- to mid-life solutions, they cannot be sustained indefinitely, and more robust treatments will eventually be required to break the cycle of repetitive repairs. Climate change compounds this challenge, as extended periods of wet weather and freezing temperatures accelerate deterioration, especially on structurally poor rural roads that make up a significant proportion of Devon’s network.

In the context of reduced funding, the Council needs to prioritise resources towards maintaining main roads, while managing minor roads to mitigate decline as far as possible. Safety-critical repairs will remain a priority, and preventative treatments will be applied where justified. To maximize efficiency and reduce disruption, the Council continues to focus on innovation and improved working practices, including the use of Dragon Patch teams, road recycling contracts, reviewing patching specifications, downgrading maintenance categories where appropriate, and engaging communities to develop local solutions. This approach ensures that the minor road network continues to be actively managed in a transparent, risk-based and proportionate way.

5.2 Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Climate resilience is a core consideration in highway asset management. Increasingly frequent and severe weather events are placing additional pressure on the network, increasing maintenance need, disrupting communities and affecting the Council’s ability to deliver planned programmes.

The Council has embedded climate resilience within its wider strategic planning and recognises that extreme weather—including flooding, prolonged rainfall and coastal impacts—will continue to affect the condition, performance and reliability of the highway network. This requires a more proactive and integrated approach to resilience, including consideration of climate risk within investment planning, design and maintenance delivery.

The Council’s Winter Service and Emergency Plan sets out procedures for managing severe weather and major incidents, supported by coordination with key partner organisations. As part of this approach, a Resilient Network has been defined based on the Minimum Winter Network, which includes:

• ‘A’ roads
• Main access routes to 24-hour emergency premises
• Main access routes to primary market and coastal towns

This network does not simply follow road classification but reflects the routes most critical to economic activity, emergency access and community connectivity. Maintenance and resilience measures are prioritised on this network to support continuity of service during disruptive events.

The Resilient Network is periodically reviewed to ensure it remains aligned with current needs and reflects the most critical routes and assets. This approach provides a clear framework for targeting investment, improving preparedness and supporting effective response and recovery.

The Council maintains information relating to locations and assets known to be vulnerable to flooding, coastal change, slope instability, drainage failure and other climate-related hazards. This information is used alongside inspection data, condition information, local knowledge and risk assessments to inform resilience planning, prioritisation and future investment decisions. Climate adaptation measures are incorporated into asset management activities where proportionate and supported by evidence.

The Council recognises that climate change is expected to increase both the frequency and severity of extreme weather events over the coming decades, resulting in greater risks from flooding, prolonged rainfall, heat stress, drought, coastal erosion, landslip, embankment instability and other geohazards affecting highway infrastructure. The Council will continue to review climate projections, asset vulnerability information and emerging evidence to ensure that lifecycle plans, risk assessments, design standards, maintenance strategies and investment decisions remain aligned to current and future resilience needs. Consideration of climate adaptation and geohazard risk will form an integral part of long-term asset management planning and network stewardship.

A link to the Council’s Resilient Network can be found here: Map

5.3 Sustainability and Carbon Management

The Council’s approach to sustainability within its highway maintenance service is guided by the principles set out in the Council’s Strategic Plan 2025 – 2029 and Devon and Torbay’s Local Transport Plan 2025 – 2040.

Sustainability considerations are embedded in all aspects of highway maintenance planning and delivery. Carbon reduction is a key focus, supported by innovative tools such as the carbon calculator developed with Exeter University, which estimates emissions and whole-life carbon costs for different treatment options. This enables informed decision-making to reduce or design out carbon. Additionally, the Council’s carbon web form, launched in 2022, provides granular data on emissions, supporting intelligent decisions on materials and treatments. Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA), which reduces embodied carbon by up to 15%, is now the default surfacing material, offering both environmental and practical benefits.

The Council is also pioneering projects to achieve carbon-negative highways, such as the A382 Jetty Marsh Link Road, funded through ADEPT’s Live Labs 2 programme. A Technical Appraisal Panel evaluates new innovations to support carbon reduction and cost efficiency. Fleet sustainability is addressed through the adoption of electric vehicles and the use of alternative fuels like hydrated vegetable oils sourced from food waste.

Nature conservation is supported through initiatives like the Life on the Verge programme, which encourages wildlife-friendly verge management. Special Verges, designated for their ecological value, are maintained with community involvement. The Council also applies protocols for highway design in protected landscapes to minimise environmental intrusion.

Overall, the Council’s highway maintenance service demonstrates a comprehensive and evolving commitment to sustainability, balancing environmental, economic, and social priorities. This approach supports the Council’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 and a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030.

5.4 Community Collaboration and Self-Help

The Council recognises the value of working with communities to support resilience, strengthen local ownership and extend the reach of maintenance activity where this can be done safely and appropriately. Community-led schemes such as Public Path Partnership, Community Road Warden and Snow Warden arrangements make a positive contribution to local network stewardship and help strengthen understanding of shared responsibilities.

These initiatives do not replace the Council’s statutory responsibilities, but they do support local resilience, improve communication and provide an important mechanism for community involvement in the management of the highway network. The Council will continue to support these approaches where they operate safely, effectively and within appropriate governance arrangements.

5.5 Asset Growth and Commuted Sums

In a constrained funding environment, it is essential that newly adopted assets do not create unsustainable long-term maintenance liabilities. In line with the Council’s policy for Commuted Sums, monies held will be reviewed at the beginning of each financial year to determine whether they should be included in the budget-setting process for the relevant asset group. Commuted sums are financial contributions secured from developers or third parties to cover the future maintenance costs of highway assets adopted by the Council. These payments are typically associated with agreements under Sections 38 and 278 of the Highways Act 1980 and are calculated to reflect the additional burden placed on maintenance budgets by non-standard materials, bespoke features, or enhanced infrastructure.

This approach helps mitigate the financial pressures caused by underfunding by ensuring that assets introduced through development can be maintained without creating an unsustainable liability. By ringfencing commuted sums and reviewing them annually, the Council promotes transparency and effective financial planning, aligning with national guidance such as ADEPT’s Commuted Sums for Highway Infrastructure Asset Management. This process supports long-term asset management objectives, delivers best value, and ensures that infrastructure remains safe, serviceable, and fit for purpose throughout its lifecycle.

6. Overview of Highway Assets

6.1 Asset Groups and Network Composition

DCC’s highway assets are grouped into twelve main categories, each with specific components. See table 1

Defining highway asset groups provides a structured approach to managing the network by categorising assets with similar characteristics and maintenance needs. This enables tailored lifecycle planning, accurate performance monitoring, and risk-based prioritisation. It also supports compliance with national codes of practice, improves transparency and consistency in decision-making, and ensures resources are allocated efficiently to deliver the best value within funding constraints.

Plan Annex	Asset Group	Components	Further Information
1	Carriageways	Road surfaces	13,071 km of roads
2	Footways	Footway surfaces	3,972 km of footways
3	Cycleways	Cycleway surfaces	1,000+ km cycle routes
4	Drainage	Gullies, pipes, grips	212,742 gullies
5	Fences & Barriers	Restraint systems, guardrails	3,000 km
6	Trees & Soft Landscape	Highway verge, Trees	17,000 km, 345,000 Local Authority owned trees
7	Road Markings & Studs	Lining, road studs	4,122 km longitudinal lining, >100,000 studs (estimated)
8	Signs & other Traffic Assets	Signs, other items	100,000 items
9	Park & Ride Sites	Park & Ride Sites	6 sites
10	Public Rights of Way	Footpaths, bridleways, signs	5,017 km
11	Structures	Bridges, retaining walls, culverts	3,317 bridges, 1,810 retaining walls
12	Traffic Signals & Street Lighting	Columns, illuminated signs, signals & crossings	80,000 streetlights, 1,617 systems

Table 1: Asset groups and core components

7. Delivery Framework

7.1 Programme Development and Prioritisation

The Council’s approach to programme development is underpinned by the Highway Asset Management Plan, which sets out the detailed actions, resources and programmes for each asset group. Forward programmes are developed through a structured and iterative process that brings together technical expertise, asset condition data, inspection findings, local knowledge and stakeholder feedback.

Although some asset groups are more mature than others, the Council applies a consistent framework that supports annual cross-asset prioritisation. Each year, asset group performance is reviewed in terms of condition, depreciation, service level and risk. These factors inform decisions on how available funding should be distributed both within individual asset groups and across the wider asset portfolio.

This process is supported by an annual workshop involving senior managers and asset leads. The workshop considers strategic priorities, service risks, minimum service levels, asset condition, historical funding, benchmarking information, target outcomes and wider corporate objectives. The resulting recommendations inform the annual Cabinet report that sets out how capital highway maintenance funding will be allocated for the coming year and reports on delivery in the preceding year.

Programme planning is undertaken within the context of integrated network management, aligning with the Council’s network management duty and coordinating with streetworks, utility activity and wider transport objectives, including public transport, active travel and economic connectivity.

7.2 Performance Framework and Continuous Improvement

The Council operates a structured performance framework to ensure that highway asset management is delivered in a way that is evidence-led, outcomes-focused and subject to continuous review. The purpose of this framework is not simply to measure activity, but to evaluate whether investment is achieving the intended outcomes for the network in terms of condition, resilience, serviceability, customer experience and value for money.

Performance management forms an integral part of the asset management framework and provides a clear link between strategy, planning, delivery and review. This operates as a continuous feedback loop in which the Asset Management Strategy sets long-term direction, annual programmes define delivery, and performance monitoring is used to assess outcomes and inform future decision-making.

This approach ensures that asset management activity remains responsive to changing conditions, aligned to available resources and focused on managing risk across the network. Financial performance, service delivery and contractual performance are considered together to provide a comprehensive understanding of outcomes and to support effective governance and decision-making.

Performance information is used to inform future programme development, refine levels of service and support periodic review of this Strategy. By embedding performance within a continuous improvement cycle, the Council ensures that learning from delivery, innovation and benchmarking activity is systematically incorporated into future planning and investment decisions.

7.3 Procurement and Contracting Approach

The Council procures highway maintenance activities and service delivery through a competitive process that is publicly advertised on platforms such as Contracts Finder and, for larger tenders, via the Find a Tender Service (FTS). Works are delivered through a combination of Term and Framework contracts, including a main Term Service Contract and smaller frameworks for specialist activities such as surface dressing, resurfacing, recycling, high-friction surfacing, and road restraint systems. This approach ensures that maintenance activities can be distributed among different delivery partners, maximizing resource availability and addressing specialist requirements effectively.

Each contract is designed to deliver value for money, comply with policies and specifications, and align with the Council’s strategic priorities. The service operates multiple routes to market to achieve the best balance of quality, performance, support for the local Devon economy, and risk minimization. The Term Maintenance Contract plays a critical role in meeting the Highway Authority’s statutory duty to maintain a safe network, covering activities such as patching, drainage repairs, emergency response, storm damage repairs, and reactive safety defect management.

Significant resurfacing, reconstruction, patching, recycling, and high-friction surfacing schemes are delivered through dedicated frameworks, with separate procurement lots for specialist treatments like micro asphalt and footway slurry sealing. Preventative treatments, such as surface dressing, are procured via a four-year framework arrangement due to their specialist nature.

As contracts approach expiry, the Council reviews service requirements, market conditions, legislation and opportunities for improvement in order to shape future procurement strategy. Early market engagement and a clear focus on quality, value, sustainability and risk management are central to this approach.

8. Governance, Scrutiny and Assurance

8.1 Scrutiny and Member Oversight

The Council operates a robust framework of Member oversight and scrutiny to ensure that highway asset management activities remain transparent, accountable and aligned with corporate priorities. This supports informed decision-making and provides assurance that investment in the highway network is being directed in a planned, evidence-led and publicly accountable way.

The Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee provides independent review and challenge of relevant policies, strategies and performance. This includes consideration of highway maintenance priorities, programme delivery and the effectiveness of the Council’s wider asset management approach. Through this process, Members are able to examine key issues, review progress and make recommendations that inform future decision-making.

In addition to formal committee processes, the service provides regular opportunities for Member engagement and oversight. This includes periodic updates on programme delivery and performance, Member briefings on emerging issues and topic-based sessions to support understanding of key areas such as asset condition, resilience, funding and network risk. Where appropriate, Members may also be offered opportunities to attend site visits and scheme inspections to provide practical visibility of delivery on the ground.

Together, these arrangements provide an effective framework for scrutiny, engagement and democratic oversight of the Council’s highway asset management activity.

8.2 Performance Reporting and Transparency

The Council is committed to transparency and accountability in the management of the highway network. Performance reporting provides a clear and accessible account of how investment decisions are being translated into outcomes, and how the Council is performing against its strategic objectives.

Performance information is reported through a structured governance framework, ensuring that Members are able to review delivery, understand performance trends and provide informed challenge. This includes regular reporting on asset condition, service performance, financial position, risk and customer experience, supported by annual reporting to Cabinet on programme delivery and future investment priorities.

In addition to internal governance, the Council participates in a range of external reporting and benchmarking activities. These include national performance reporting requirements, transparency returns and sector benchmarking exercises, which provide independent validation of performance and enable comparison with other authorities.

This approach ensures that the Council’s performance is visible, evidence-based and open to scrutiny, supporting public accountability and reinforcing confidence that the highway network is being managed in a planned, proportionate and responsible manner.

The Council will support transparency and public accountability through the publication of information on highway maintenance activities, asset condition, investment, performance and future programmes. Reporting will draw upon information contained within the Asset Management Framework and associated business processes, providing a clear line of sight between strategic objectives, investment decisions, delivery activity and network outcomes. Supporting evidence will be maintained where appropriate to demonstrate compliance with national reporting requirements and provide assurance regarding the effectiveness of the Council’s asset management approach.

Performance reporting also supports wider assurance by providing an auditable trail linking strategic objectives, investment decisions and delivery outcomes, demonstrating alignment with national guidance, including the principles of Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure.

8.3 Audit and Assurance

The Council maintains a structured approach to audit and assurance in order to support effective governance, maintain compliance and promote continuous improvement in highway asset management.

Assurance is provided through a combination of internal governance, risk management, performance review and audit activity. Where internal audit work is undertaken, it provides independent review of the adequacy of governance, control and risk management arrangements within the service. Findings and recommendations are used to strengthen practice, address identified issues and support ongoing improvement.

The Council’s overall approach is also informed by recognised good practice and national expectations, including alignment with the principles of Well-managed Highway Infrastructure, evidence-based decision-making and structured self-assessment of asset management maturity. In addition, benchmarking and participation in regional and national networks provide external perspective and help validate the Council’s approach.

Taken together, these arrangements provide assurance that the Council’s highway asset management approach is robust, transparent and capable of supporting the long-term stewardship of the network.

This includes periodic review of the Asset Management Framework to ensure ongoing alignment with national guidance, emerging best practice and the Council’s evolving risk and financial context.