Decision details

Background:

Last year Kent Highways together with Amey submitted a bid to the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy Planning and Transport (ADEPT) and the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop an asset management control hub, situated within the Operational Control Room (OCR) based at Aylesford Highway Depot. The bid was successful, and the project was granted £1.975m over two years, half of which was paid to the Council in May of this year, with the remainder expected in December 2019.

This is part of the £25m Smart Places Research Programme funding package to “stimulate innovation and encourage collaboration in local highways.” This included the development of up to six smart local highways and autonomous vehicle (AV) live labs focusing on innovation, collaboration and agility.

Kent County Council in collaboration with Amey submitted a bid to run one of the Live Labs and was successful in being granted £1.975m for a two-year project. The Live labs will embed SMART infrastructure in everyday service delivery in a meaningful way that communities can engage with and understand.

This intelligence-led approach to asset management could lead to significant benefits to the service in terms of efficiencies, network resilience and customer experience. An asset management control hub will be responsible for collecting all data and providing intelligent analysis, both through software automation and consultancy form.

As Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, I agree to approve progression of the Live Labs project using the funding awarded by the Department for Transport and delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport to enter into legal agreements and to take other actions necessary to implement the decision.