30/10/03 - Highways Hotline hits the road

On Monday 3rdNovember two top county councillors will be on hand to answer calls from the public when they officially launch the new and improved ‘Cumbria Highways’ hotline.

Councillor Joe Nicholson, chairman of Cumbria County Council, and Councillor Kevan Wilkinson, Cabinet Member responsible for highways, will jointly launch the new system,   which provides the public with a single point of contact for all highways issues - from potholes to gritting - from streetlights to flooding.  And once an incident has been reported, the new system tracks the complaint allowing the council to keep the public informed at every stage, providing up-to-the-minute information about highway matters. The launch at 11.15am will take place at The Capita Building, Regional Business Centre, Kingmoor Park, Carlisle.

Councillor Nicholson said: 

“The number of organisations involved in the delivery of Cumbria County Council’s highways service can make it appear rather complex. Cumbria Highways   will simplify the situation for the public and present one port of call where they can raise all their queries and concerns about highways matters. 0845 6096609   will  then be the number for them to call and find out what progress has been made.

Councillor Wilkinson said: 

“The new 24-hour s ystem will help Cumbria County Council and the public to work together more closely on highways matters. Although we have inspection teams it is often a member of the public who is first aware of a highway problem and it is important that we make it as easy as possible for them to report it. It will also provide us with valuable information about how the service is performing and how we can improve it.”

Behind Highways   Hotline is a new Cumbria County Council venture,   Cumbria Highways, which will bring closer together all the people who deal with highways matters: Cumbria Contract Services, who do the work on the roads; Capita, who design, co-ordinate and manage the work, and Cumbria County Council, who decide on the programmes of work and commission Capita to set them in motion.

Anyone ringing the Hotline   number 0845 6096609 during the normal working day will be answered by trained staff who will:

• Take details of the caller’s name, address and other details and provide them with a log number
• Answer queries if possible, or alternatively take details of any highways defect and pass it to the appropriate staff to deal with.

The large amount of information held in the Hotline’s computer system will enable the Hotline operator to answer frequently asked questions without the need to seek further advice or information from a specialist. Defects are logged from the moment they are reported to the point where they are finally remedied. This means callers can get updated information on defects reported by themselves or others by ringing back at anytime and giving the reference number. Outside normal office hours Highways Hotline will be operated on the same number by Cumbria Fire Service. Highways response teams will be called out to deal with urgent and dangerous highways defects, but other less urgent issues will be sent to the appropriate person for attention the following working day.