| ID | Question | |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1.1 | Do your procurement and contracting approaches encourage and reward innovative practice? | Yes |
| 10.1.2 | Can you demonstrate that innovative materials and practices are regularly reviewed and, where appropriate, integrated into business-as-usual operations? | Yes |
| 10.1.3 | If you have conducted innovation trials, have you shared the findings of these publicly or with professional networks? | Yes |
Evidence Summary
| Wirral Council is adopting innovative, sustainable highway maintenance through risk-based asset management, preventative surface treatments, thermal repairs that recycle existing materials, and reduced-temperature asphalt to lower carbon emissions and costs. It is also restoring concrete roads rather than full replacement, extending asset life and improving value for money. |
Further context on your innovation activities
| The Council supports innovation through membership of LCRIG (Local Council Roads Innovation Group) and engagement with the LCRIG Northwest Working Group, enabling collaboration, knowledge sharing, and access to emerging best practice and technologies for highway asset management . We have also registered for the ADEPT Carbon Leadership programme supported by the DfT, which offers a practical, evidence-based framework that helps Local Authorities to identify opportunities to cut emissions, improve operational efficiency and deliver long term cost savings. |
Examples of innovations that have been adopted
Guidance - please provide examples of innovations that have moved beyond trial into operational use in your authority. For each example outline: What was implemented, what impacts it has had (e.g. cost, performance, safety), and the scale of adoption.
|
Wirral Council has adopted several innovative highway maintenance practices, including a risk-based Highway Infrastructure Asset Management (HIAM) approach to prioritise investment and maximise funding and is engaging with an asset management contractor for lifecycle planning. It has expanded the use of preventative surface treatments to slow road deterioration, introduced thermal road repairs that recycle existing road material and create zero waste, and uses reduced-temperature asphalt to cut energy use and CO₂ emissions. We are one of the first councils in the UK to use asphalt heated by hydrogen, The council is also restoring and resealing concrete roads rather than replacing them, extending asset life while reducing costs and environmental impact. |