Hounslow Council is set to invest £2 million in pavement repairs across the borough, fulfilling an administration promise to improve footways for pedestrians and other users. The council expects that the renewal of footway surfaces will decrease the need for maintenance until the end of the PFI Project in December 2037. The maintenance of the treated footways will remain within the PFI Project until the end of the PFI Term, and there will be no increase into the PFI Unitary Charge as a result of these works.
The Pavement Pledge, a key objective under the Corporate Plan theme of 'A Cleaner Hounslow', aims to renew footways on at least one road in every ward, ensuring that pavements beside roads across the Borough, 1 in every Ward, will have a new renewed footway for all pedestrians and users to benefit from.
The Lead Member set the criteria for the £2 million Pavement Pledge, deciding that the best value and impact would be made to treat full footways on a minimum 1 road per Ward across the Borough.
The Lead Member communicated the Pavement Pledge criteria to all 62 ward councillors, who then nominated a long list of footways from their Wards. Each road was costed by the Highways PFI Provider, and this information was used to confirm the selection and feedback to the councillor of the road in each ward receiving funds for pavement works. The Pavement Pledge schemes will resurface the identified footways with newer materials, in either asphalt or, for conservation areas, modular paving.
Works are scheduled to begin in Spring 2025, with the majority occurring during the summer and autumn, and final schemes in February and March 2026. The council's Highways PFI Service Provider will carry out the works, using discounted unit prices based on their contractual Schedule of Rates. All residents of roads being treated will be written to 3-4 weeks in advance of any works.
The council engaged with ward councillors from January to July 2024 to explain the criteria and nominate footways. Each road was costed by the Highways PFI Provider to inform the selection process.
The total spend will not exceed £2 million, with the current estimate below that figure to account for any contingency work.