A scheme where volunteers carry out highways maintenance tasks – such as pothole repairs and clearing vegetation – is being explored by Cambridgeshire County Council.
Details of the proposal are included in a report outlining the Council’s new strategy and approach to improving the county’s road network.
The report – which was presented to the Highways and Transport Committee last week – mentions how other local authorities have volunteers carry out “various low level maintenance tasks” on highways.
It said: “The key to the success of existing schemes is the training of volunteers who are nominated by their town or parish council and are then responsible for co-ordinating any highway volunteers […] in that area.”
However, it notes that “a robust assurance regime” would be required, given volunteers would be working on public highways. This would include strict health and safety procedures and quality management checks.
Initial pilot
The volunteer initiative forms part of a wider Highways Improvement Programme which was approved by councillors last Tuesday (3 March).
It is proposed to be piloted during the upcoming financial year to gauge local interest, with around 20 parishes and community groups hoped to initially take part.
Josh Rutherford, the council’s Head of Asset Management, Design and Delivery, said any work undertaken by volunteers would be carried out under supervision.
During the meeting, Lorna Dupré asked whether volunteers in rural areas with experience using specialist equipment could help address some highways issues themselves – particularly on soil-affected roads.
Mr Rutherford responded: “We will explore everything and work through the pros and cons, including potential risks and liabilities to the authority, to ensure we enable as much volunteering as possible on the highway.”
If the pilot proves successful, the council hopes to roll out the initiative more widely from 2027-28 onwards.
Prevention
The wider highways improvement strategy presented to councillors places greater emphasis on preventative maintenance across the network – addressing issues earlier “to slow road deterioration and maximise value for money”.
For example, councillors heard that applying preventative treatments to a 100km stretch of road can cost around £96,000, compared with up to £800,000 for full reconstruction.
Mr Rutherford said the strategy would involve earlier pothole repairs, increased preventative treatments, improved vegetation management along footways and cycleways, more frequent inspections and clearer communication with residents. Resurfacing and reconstruction programmes will still continue where required.
‘More ambitious’
H&I’s County Councillor Ros Hathorn told the meeting she welcomed what she described as a “more ambitious” and “more practical” approach to highway maintenance. She said residents frequently ask why only one pothole is repaired when several are reported in the same area – and that the new strategy will also address this issue.
Ros added: “It is also aspiring to fix defects far earlier, so that a flaw in the road doesn’t become something massively blown out in January, when the cold freeze and rain hits. There was a small number of potholes in my division that have become absolutely massive because they weren’t an intervention criteria prior to the pothole outbreak and have since then declined.”
Following January’s snowfall, weekly pothole reports across Cambridgeshire rose from around 500 to 2,000. Ros also raised concerns about the Council’s new online pothole reporting system, although officers acknowledged that improvements could be made to the customer journey.
Speaking after the meeting, she added: “In December, we agreed to a data-led prioritisation process for fixing our roads. While I appreciate there are still issues that need to be addressed in H&I, the Council is also investing more money into reactive maintenance. Twenty-seven crews are working across Cambridgeshire to fix potholes at the moment and there is a huge backlog, but they will get to us here in the village.”
Funding
At the same meeting, the committee also agreed a £58 million highways maintenance and improvement programme for the upcoming financial year.
As well as the focus on preventative maintenance, the Council says there will be significant investment across the network. Funds have also been allocated towards the upkeep of over 1,600 road signs and renewal of 800km of road markings.
Specific projects for H&I include preparations for road surface treatments at Home Close, Histon and Hereward Close, Impington. Road repairs will also be carried out at Hereward Close.
Meanwhile, £35,000 has also been allocated to develop a safe route to school scheme for Impington Village College.
Cambridgeshire’s road maintenance backlog is estimated to be around £800 million, and the Council says it will continue to liaise with government to secure fairer funding for the works needed particularly for soil-affected roads.
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “By focusing on preventative maintenance, we’re extending the life of our roads, and reducing the need for costly reconstruction later on….
“… Although the challenges we face are significant, this programme marks real progress. I’m looking forward to seeing this work get underway and the positive impact it will have for everyone who travels around our county.”
If you are interested in becoming a road maintenance volunteer, email Ros at Ros.Hathorn@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
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Thanks HI Hub and Ros Hathorn. I was inspired to see this post when I woke up last week. I have been privileged enough to see just a glimpse of the work our local Highways officers do, and the courage it takes to make sure their managers and organisations are aware of the decisions, pressures and realities they face on the ground.
They are on the front line of our national highways crisis. They carry load bearing responsibilities that most people never see, and they do this whilst sticking their heads above the parapet, working long hours, challenging their own systems with the data they gather, and listening closely to communities so they can take those messages back into the places where decisions are made. When work like this is unsupported, it inevitably fails, not because of the people but because of the structure around them.
If there is a way for communities to support them safely and constructively, I do not just want to sign up. I want to be given something meaningful to do. At Girton Parish Council, the council and CCC Highways will be working together to make pavements more accessible, offering support where useful for residents to cut back hedges, and mapping gullies so they are all firmly on the Parish Council map. This is the kind of practical, shared effort that strengthens the system rather than adding to its load.
This is also where good governance matters. The kind that makes hidden work visible, reduces repeated conversations, clarifies roles and supports the people carrying the strain points of the organisation. When structure meets reality, capability returns. I see that happening here.
Let me know what I can do to stand behind and alongside this team.
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