West Berkshire highways group aims to give local concerns a clearer route into road priorities

West Berkshire has established a new highways group to give local knowledge and community concerns a stronger role in shaping road priorities across the district.

Some highways decisions begin long before a road is closed or resurfaced.

They start with local concerns, petitions, network management issues and questions about which improvements should be taken forward.

West Berkshire Council has now established a new Highways Improvements Group to provide elected-member oversight, input and recommendations on the prioritisation and development of highways improvement activities.

In brief:

• West Berkshire Council has established a new Highways Improvements Group.
• The advisory group will provide input and recommendations on highways priorities.
• Five elected members representing all political parties will sit on the group.
• Members of the public will be able to attend meetings and submit questions.

West Berkshire highways group will scrutinise local road priorities

The new group is designed to give local knowledge a more formal place in the highways decision-making process.

West Berkshire Council says the Highways Improvements Group will strengthen collaboration between councillors and highways officers, while providing the Portfolio Holder with a balanced, cross-party perspective before key highways matters move through the council’s formal decision-making processes.

The group will consider a defined range of highways matters rather than acting as a general-purpose committee. Its remit includes petition responses, the annual Highways Improvement Programme, the annual Network Management Programme and the annual Winter Service Plan.

It will also consider relevant ad-hoc network management requests, the Peer Review Action Plan and highways term contract performance.

That gives the group a connection to some of the routine decisions that shape how the highway network is managed, from planned improvement programmes through to network management issues.

The arrangement is also intended to bring local representatives and highways officers closer together. The group will consist of five elected members representing all political parties, supported by highways officers who will provide technical, professional and procedural advice. Named substitutes will also be appointed.

Importantly, the group will not have formal decision-making powers. Its recommendations will instead help inform decisions made by the Executive Member for Highways and Environment.

That distinction matters. The new group is a route into the decision-making process, rather than a body with the authority to approve highways schemes itself.

There is also a public involvement element. West Berkshire Council says members of the public will be able to attend meetings and submit questions to the group. Questions must be received at least 10 days before a meeting, with a written response due within five working days of the meeting.

That gives residents and communities a more clearly defined route for raising highways matters, alongside the role played by elected representatives.

The council says the arrangements are intended to ensure that residents, communities and local representatives have a clear and transparent route to raise highways matters and contribute to discussions about local priorities.

For the highways sector, the interesting part is what happens before a scheme reaches delivery. The visible end of the process might be resurfacing, traffic management or construction work, but decisions about which schemes and priorities move forward happen much earlier.

The new group is intended to provide another layer of oversight during that process, bringing local knowledge into discussions alongside the technical and professional advice provided by highways officers.

The first meeting of the Highways Improvements Group is scheduled for 6 October 2026 at 6.30pm at West Berkshire Council’s offices in Market Street. Meetings are then due to take place every two months.

For residents, the immediate question will be whether the new arrangement gives local highways concerns a clearer route into discussions about priorities. For the council, the group provides a formal mechanism for elected members to scrutinise and make recommendations on highways matters before they proceed through the authority’s existing decision-making processes.

It is not a new road-building programme, nor does it give the group power to approve schemes. Instead, it changes the way local input is brought into the conversation around existing highways priorities.

That makes it a relatively quiet change, but one that sits directly inside the machinery behind local road decisions.