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Roads to Resilience
Welcome to the first edition of our Highways Bulletin!
The recent heatwaves have tested the resilience of our highways network. We’d like to hear how your highways service responded, from the welfare of workers, to road treatments (in some cases gritting) and new innovative surfaces to prevent and reduce melting.
Despite local and national political change, highways remain one of the most important services to residents based on our surveys. We recently collaborated with JCB and HRP Contracting to host a potholes webinar, bringing together councillors and elected members to explore how the Pothole Pro is revolutionising highway repairs - view the slides here.
While much of the narrative around Local Government Reorganisation focuses on authorities merging, county councils responsible for highways services often face the opposite challenge, with services divided across two or more new authorities. As part of our LGR Roundtable series, we explored how reorganisation will impact local authority highways services – find out more here.
We have plenty of upcoming events for our highways colleagues, including our Scotland Highways and Street Lighting Network meeting on Friday 28 August, Highways and Street Lighting Network meeting on Wednesday 9 September where we’ll be focussing on health and safety, and our in-person Transport Seminar on Thursday 15 October.
Bonni Jee, Principal Advisor, Highways and Street Lighting
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📝 BRIEFINGS, POLICY AND RESEARCH
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APSE Highways, Street Lighting and Winter Maintenance Seminar 2026
On Thursday 19 March, local authorities and industry leaders joined us in Newcastle for our 2026 Highways, Street Lighting and Winter Maintenance Seminar.
The event focused on the challenges of delivering a high-quality service against a backdrop of local government reorganisation and decarbonisation.
Read our briefing here
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How one local authority cut vibration exposure by 95% - and repaired more roads in the process
Chris Steel, Principal Specialist Inspector (Noise & Vibration) at Health and Safety Executive, shares the importance of using the right equipment to greatly reduce vibration risk. This case study shows how new equipment helped cut risks while improving productivity.
Chris will be presenting at the Scotland HIghways and Street Lighting Network meeting on Friday 28 August and the Highways and Street Lighting Network meeting on Wednesday 9 September.
Read the full story here
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£24m investment for Argyll and Bute Council to repair roads
Argyll and Bute Council has announced plans to allocate £12m to roads reconstruction and network improvements across the region. This investment will ensure that the need for reactive repairs and further capital investment are reduced in the long-term.
Read the full story here
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Wigan Council’s New Era for highways services
At our recent Northern Region Roads to Resilience event, Wigan Council shared how they are transforming their highways services through innovation, social value initiatives and data-driven decision making.
View the slides here
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Herefordshire Council brings highways and public realm services under council control
Herefordshire Council has announced that their highways and public realm services have been brought back under council control.
Read the full story here
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Leeds City Council’s pothole repair rate dramatically increases in the first three months of the year
Efforts by Leeds City Council's highways teams to restore the city’s roads following the challenging weather have seen the pothole repair rate almost triple in the first three months of 2026.
Read the full story here
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Amey highlights the issue of worker abuse in Staffordshire
Richard Harris, Account Director, Staffordshire Highways at Amey, highlighted the issue of abuse faced by highways workers at our recent Central Region Trees and Automobiles event in Tamworth.
View the slides here
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Devon County Council approves ‘green’ street lighting
Devon County Council have approved permanent changes to street lighting across the county, following a year-long trial that responded to community needs while cutting costs, reducing carbon emissions and delivering environmental benefits.
Read the full story here
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Lancashire County Council achieves 42% reduction in defects in a year
Lancashire County Council shared their journey to reaching a 42% reduction in defects at our recent Northern Region Roads to Resilience Event in Manchester.
View the slides here
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Powys County Council tackles potholes with new Pothole Pro
Powys County Council's first Pothole Pro machine has arrived in the county, marking an important milestone in the council's wider investment in highway maintenance. The specialist machine forms part of the council's £2.5 million investment in highways maintenance.
Read the full story here
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Telford and Wrekin Council shares how they have brought active travel to their highways and green spaces
We were joined by Kellie Thompson, Group Manager Active Travel and Passenger Transport at Telford and Wrekin Council, at our recent Central Region Trees and Automobiles event in Tamworth to share how they have embedded active travel in their highways and green spaces.
View the slides here
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Tamworth Borough Council delivers town centre street lighting improvements
Tamworth Borough Council has announced plans to replace outdated, inefficient lighting systems with modern, energy efficient LED and smart technologies. The project will use the remaining allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in a significant step forward in the regeneration of the town centre.
Read the full story here
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Multevo shares how they can support local councils to provide resilient highways services
Multevo shared how they support local authorities, emergency services and the aviation sector to maintain resilient fleet, transport and highways services at our recent Northern Region Roads to Resilience event in Manchester.
View the slides here
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Scotland Highways and Street Lighting Network Meeting
Friday 28 August
14:00 - 15:30
Book your place here
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Highways and Street Lighting Network Meeting
Wednesday 9 September
14:00 - 15:30
Book your place here
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Fleet, Transport and Vehicle Maintenance Seminar
Thursday 15 October
10:00 - 16:30
Book your place here
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📊 DATA INSIGHTS WITH PERFORMANCE NETWORKS
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Roads, Highways and Winter Maintenance Performance Networks - data collection window open
The APSE Performance Networks Roads, Highways and Winter Maintenance data submission window is open!
Participating in the Highways service gives you access to valuable performance intelligence, helping you benchmark your service and drive continuous improvement. Benefits include:
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Comprehensive benchmarking reports comparing your performance with other local authorities
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Performance indicators and cost analysis to identify strengths and areas for improvement
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Evidence to support decision-making, service planning and continuous improvement
The submission deadline is 1 October, so don’t miss the opportunity to benchmark your service and gain valuable performance insights.
If you’re not already a member of APSE Performance Networks and would like to get involved, please contact [email protected].
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⚙️ CONSULTANCY AND INTERIM MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
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Associate Spotlight: Colin Rowlands
Today, APSE Solutions hosted their Local Government Reorganisation Roundtable examining how highways services will be affected by these changes.
This event was led by APSE Associates John Mundell and Colin Rowlands, who both have extensive experience supporting highways services and supporting councils in navigating the changes brought about by LGR.
Hear about Colin’s experience in this short video
Our APSE Associates are experienced local government leaders supporting councils through interim management and consultancy services.
Find out more about how APSE Solutions can support your council
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Case study: impact of new road layout
APSE Solutions have recently successfully supported a Scottish authority in an independent review of the impact of a new road layout which replaced a roundabout with traffic lights. This review included supporting the council with a documentation review, help in the preparation of a tender for a specialist engineering company and support in reviewing submissions.
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Network Queries are a resource for APSE members, allowing officers and councillors the opportunity to ask any question to APSE’s network.
This service gives our members access to the experience, knowledge and expertise of colleagues from over 300 member councils across the UK.
As a member organisation, officers and councillors from APSE have access to this service.
Do you have a question which you would like to ask the network?
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Our Annual Seminar and Service Awards are back for another year!
This time, we will be in Liverpool to discuss how we can deliver for our communities, outlining strategies for safer, cleaner and healthier places for residents to thrive.
Our interactive Community Infrastructure Frontline Forum will address the key issues impacting highways and streetlighting services, from potholes management to maintaining resilient services.
Join us at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Princes Dock in Liverpool on Wednesday 16 - Thursday 17 September.
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APSE is a member of APSE and APSE Energy and so you have full access to the benefits of both memberships. Find out more by visiting the APSE Website and the APSE Energy Web Pages.
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You have expressed interest in the below service areas.
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Armed Forces and Veterans Network
Building Cleaning
Catering
Cemeteries and Crematoria
Social Value, Procurement and Commercialisation
Environmental Health
Health and Social Care
Housing & Building Maintenance
Local Government Reorganisation
Parks & Grounds Maintenance
Waste & Recycling
Renewables & Climate Change
Roads & Highways
Sports & Leisure
Transport & Vehicle Maintenance
Workforce Matters
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If you would like to add to or amend your areas of interest you can do so using the link below.
Service Area Update Form
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APSE’s suite of service area networks now includes:
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Subscribe to APSE Communications
If you have been forwarded this email by a colleague and would like to subscribe to APSE communications yourself, please complete the Online Contact Form.
If you have any colleagues that would benefit from APSE communications, you can Forward the Online Contact Form.
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Upcoming APSE Seminars
You can view the upcoming suite of APSE Seminars by clicking on the link below.
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Colleagues from APSE can attend these Seminars at the Member Rate.
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Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com
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