Ten per cent of county’s regional roads have issues Broken street lights not being fixed quickly enough
PERFORMANCE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES ANALYSED IN NEW NOAC REPORT
A NEW report had analysed the performance of Wicklow County Council in key service areas.
The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) recently published the Local Authority Performance Indicator Report 2018, which analyses services provided by 31 local authorities in key areas including roads, water and housing. The report can be used by local authorities to improve their performances.
In relation to roads, the study identified that ten per cent of Wicklow’s regional roads received Pavement Surface Condition Index (PSCI) rating of 1 to 4, indicating ‘some to severe structural distress’. Offaly was found to have the highest percentage of regional roads with PSCI ratings of between 1 and 4 at 16 per cent, followed by Wexford at 13 per cent. Ten per cent of regional roads in Cork County and Limerick City and County also received PSCI ratings of 1 to 4.
Wicklow was one of the 21 local authorities where 100 per cent of the county’s roads had received a PSCI rating in the 24 months to the end of 2018. The PSCI rating scale is used to evaluate the conditions of roads. It ranges from ten for a pavement in excellent condition to one for a pavement in failed condition.
The report describes regional roads as ‘the arteries that connect many parts of the country.’ It also notes that poor quality roads ‘can be a cause of concern to communities and impact economic development.’
According to NOAC’s report, Wicklow also had the lowest percentage of regional roads – 24 per cent – which received a PSCI rating of 9-10, meaning ‘no defects or less than 10 per cent defective’. 24 per cent of the county’s roads had a PSCI rating of 5-6 (‘surface defects, localised distress’) and 42 per cent had a PSCI rating of 7-8 (‘surface defects’).
Figures contained within the report state that Wicklow County Council spent over €2.1 million on works to strengthen regional roads in the county in 2018 and over €385,000 on regional road resealing in the same year.
Meanwhile, 8 per cent of Wicklow’s local primary roads obtained a PSCI rating of 1-4. 23 per cent were rated 5-6, 46 per cent 7-8 and 23 per cent 9-10, In terms of local secondary roads, 10 per cent of this type of road in Wicklow received a PSCI rating of 1-4.
The reports adds that NOAC ‘recognises that cross authority comparisons of performance indicators can represent a challenge, having regard to the variation in characteristics, geographic, topographic and socio-economic factors, population distribution, resource availability and local service prioritisation. However, identifying comparators may be appropriate in the case of specific indicators, with a view to sharing learning and best practice among local authorities.’
In terms of housing, the NOAC report highlights the ‘crucial’ role played by local authorities in the delivery of housing supports. It reports that 4,363 dwellings were owned by Wicklow County Counil at start of 2018. The number of homes owned by Wicklow County Council by the end of 2018 had increased to 4,410.
Just over 2 (2.3) per cent of the properties owned by the council were vacant on December 31, 2018. The report stated that it took an average of 26 weeks from the date a property was vacated by a local authority tenant for it to be re-let.
Meanwhile, the report notes that there was a total of 6,691 tenancies registered in the county in 2018. Of these, 558 private rented properties were inspected in 2018 by Wicklow County Council and 37 per cent were not compliant with the standards required.
NOAC also monitors the performance of local county councils in other areas including libraries, waste management and water. Over 93 per cent of water in private schemes in the garden county was found to be compliant with the statutory requirements while 626,731 items were issued to library borrowers in Wicklow during 2018. COUNCILLORS from different parts of the county are unhappy with the response when it comes to fixing faulty street lights.
Elected members were also critical over the amount of time if often takes to connect public lighting in new housing estates.
Cllr Vincent Blake raised issues in both Shillelagh and Carnew at last week’s meeting of Wicklow County Council.
‘There have been lights in Carnew for months. We need to put pressure on ESB as we are now heading into the winter months and the situation needs to be rectified,’ he said.
Cllr Steven Matthews commented: ‘Lots of network faults and lighting problems in Bray are due to ESB.’
Council Chief Executive, Frank Curran said he would discuss the issue with ESB. He also stated that the planned replacement of all public lights with LED lighting would also help.