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.
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Expenditure or savings of more than £1m;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Notice of proposed decision first published: 22/07/2019
Decision due: Not before 20th Aug 2019 by Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste
Reason: In order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste
Lead director: Simon Jones
Department: Growth, Environment & Transport
Contact: Carol Valentine, Highway Manager 03000 413843 Email: carol.valentine@kent.gov.uk Tel: 07917 454165.
Consultees
Consultation with Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee Chairman and Group Spokesmen – process as set out in Appendix 4, Part 6 of the KCC Constitution.
A project update will be provided at the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 10 October 2019.
Financial implications: This project is fully funded by the Department for Transport: £1.975m over two years
Legal implications: It is too early to say what legal implications will be. Regular meetings will be held with DfT, ADEPT and other interested parties to ensure all legal matters are considered.
Equalities implications: Stakeholder engagement will include consideration of the needs of people with protected characteristics and progress of the project will include regular reviews of the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA)