The City of London has been awarded Beacon
Status by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) for the
way in which it manages its Street and Highway Works. The award was
presented by the Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP at the launch event held
on Tuesday 1 April.
From a pool of 187 applications, over 80
Councils were short listed for Beacon status across ten themes.
Officers from the Beacon Assessment Team visited Guildhall in
January to meet with selected Members, senior officers and staff,
as well as representatives from our highway maintenance partners,
FM Conway. A further presentation was then made by the team to the
ODPM at their offices later that month, and as a result the City of
London was one of six successful authorities in the Street and
Highway Works Theme.
The ODPM recognised the City of London’s efforts to minimize
disruption to the local economy by using a comprehensive package of
measures including the Considerate Contractor scheme, Partnering
and trench sharing. They acknowledged the exceptionally good
condition of the highway in the City, and congratulated the City of
London on its continued pursuit of innovation and continuous
improvement in the field.
Over the next year, as part of the Beacon
Scheme, the City of London will be disseminating its knowledge and
good practice to other local authorities, and the award attracts
government funding for this purpose.
Philip Everett, Director of Technical Services,
who received the award on behalf of the City of London said: “Every
business and resident of the Square Mile uses our pavements and
roads, and our highways team works hard to ensure that there is
minimal disruption caused by road works. The efficient management
of the highway is an important part of keeping the City as the
world’s leading international financial centre.”
Nick Raynsford, Local Government
Minister, said: “ We are delighted that the City of London has
achieved Beacon status for the first time. The authority’s
achievement is a real example of how a good service can make a real
difference to people’s lives. The City of London’s Beacon Award
marks the authority’s achievement and recognises the hard work of
the staff at the frontline of delivering services. But just as
importantly, the City of London will now help other authorities
learn from its experience so that authorities across the country
might provide services that meet the standards of the
best.”