Success for Reading Borough Council's Highways Services Team at The MJ Awards 2023 - Best Council Service
Thursday the 22nd of June, 2023
Reading Borough Council set off on a highly ambitious road and pavement improvement programme, commencing April 2020, with completion in March 2023.
Following this programme, Reading Borough Council entered and became the winners for The MJ Award - Best Council Services.
The MJ Awards were created to give thanks and recognition back to any individual or team, working within a Local Authority. Each category nomination was put forward to judges, who are leading experts from the sector associated with each category.
The judges were looking at nominations projects or policies containing imagination, ambition, good management and value for money, alongside supporting evidence that the project or policy has made a positive difference to customers.
Awarded for the great team effort as a council with investing resources into the local council infrastructure, the award is a well-deserved recognition of the effort that the Council’s Highways In-House Engineering Team has delivered across the town.
Reading Borough Council at The MJ Awards 2023
“Congratulations to Sam Shean and everyone at Reading Borough Councils Highways Services team, for picking up you award for “Best Council Service "at the MJ awards last week. It is well deserved and great to see such a collaborative and forward-thinking team being rewarded, always willing work with you and try something new.”
Chris Currie – Net Zero Ambassador for Project Highways Zero at Meon
The programme was funded by Reading Borough Council and saw resurfacing of over 500 roads (A third of the Borough) benefiting cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.
Additionally, this programme also responded to Reading’s decarbonisation goal of being net-zero by 2023, with planting and increase the number of trees and wildflowers growing within the borough.
“Reading Council have reduced their carbon emissions by 71.3% since 2008, alongside the tree and wildflower planting the programme saw, an emphasis was placed on active travel and encouraging journeys by foot, bicycle or public transport.”
Sam Shean – Highways & Traffic Services Manager at Reading Borough Council
The programme delivered through challenges head on, facing competition from broadband installation, utility and planned emergency works, as well as COVID 19 restrictions.
Despite all the challenges, Reading Council’s Highways In-House Engineering Team delivered over a million square metres of local roads resurfaced in the three years of the programme.
Reading Borough Council's Highways Team
“The programme has seen more than 500 roads become ‘Green’ good condition status, more than doubling the total number of good condition ‘Green’ roads, from 35% to 77%.”
Sam Shean – Highways & Traffic Services Manager at Reading Borough Council
Meon’s relationship with Reading Borough Council is one of positive interaction, collaboration and willing to try out innovation. Over the past 2 years we have been working alongside Reading Borough Council and their Highways In-House Engineering Team to trial different cold lay products for pothole repair and ironwork instatement, namely PermaFyx L273, challenging the traditional methods of practise with a greener, more carbon neutral approach.
Following the programme, Reading has seen a great decline in the number of actionable potholes, from 3680 pre-programme, to 899 for the entire 2022 calendar year.
This in turn has resulted in the number of complaints about potholes and the general road condition, to drop by nearly 75%, freeing up valuable resources that can be used to improve other areas of the Borough’s highway network.
Alongside this, Reading Borough Council’s Highways In-House Engineering Team were proposed a ‘Try-before-you-buy’ scheme by Meon, allowing the trialling of a LineLazer 200HS Line Marking Machine for the self-delivery of line marking.
“We are working with Meon to trial a new Line Marking Machine, its innovative, it can be an all-electric machine going forward, which is important in meeting a lot of our environmental goals.
This machine also allows us to bring back in-house line marking, so we do not have to wait for contractors to come back and finish the roads. It’s great because we can control the level, the depth and the speed of paint, we can reduce the paint quantity and save money.
I love this machine and the line marking is looking better than ever. I am really looking forward to the innovation we can bring forward here at Reading Council, thanks to Meon.”
Karen Rowland – Lead Councillor – Environmental Services at Reading Borough Council
This line marking machine, used in conjunction with our MMA line marking paints, Reading Borough Council now benefit from 300% more durable road markings, 60% improved safety for road users in wet-nighttime conditions and an overall 90% carbon saving during the application process.
In light of all the work between Reading Borough Council and Meon, we congratulate the whole Council on this tremendous achievement and look forward to the future collaboration with Sam Shean, their Highways & Traffic Service Manager.
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