LCRIG Infrastructure Innovation Board

Ian Large

Infrastructure Innovation Board Chair and Performance Manager for Highways and Traffic Management Services, Blackpool Council

Infrastructure Innovation Board Chair
Ian is the performance manager for highways and traffic management services at Blackpool Council. He is a highly accomplished senior officer who has a consistently successful record of leading high-performance teams in the management and delivery of all aspects of highway maintenance schemes, capital schemes and utility works. Demonstrating a robust ground-up expertise and a consistent professional approach, he has strong project management skills, comprehensive technical and legal knowledge, and excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

At Blackpool Ian is the lynch pin between the political members and the highways service, together with management responsibility for internal and external projects, scrutinising quality, identifying potential problems, and providing commercially sound solutions. More importantly Ian is a key member of LCRIG and leads innovation and progression in the authorities approach to highway maintenance, asset management and its engagement with suppliers. He is a keen advocate of innovation and new ideas, in particular fostering a collaborative approach across the highway community.

Always pushing to achieve more, to gain best value, working together and approaching things collaboratively, Ian sees this approach as an absolute ‘must do’ for the future.

Matthew Eglinton

Highways Maintenance and Innovation Policy Manager, Local Infrastructure, Department for Transport

Matt is the Head of Local Roads and Resilience at the Department for Transport. He is the Government’s lead on the Live Labs programme; working with external stakeholders including local highway authorities, academia, and the private sector organisations on delivering innovative solutions to highways infrastructure construction and maintenance.

Matt is an experienced transport policy professional, having previously worked for the UK’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). He helped design and implement policy changes needed to ensure the safe deployment of CAV technology in the UK aligned to the UK’s Industrial Strategy, most notably the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act. He has also worked for successive Transport Ministers as a Private Secretary, advising UK Government Ministers on complex transport policy areas.

Dr Annette Pass

Head of Innovation, Highways England

Annette was appointed Head of Innovation in November 2017.  She has 20 years’ experience at Highways England in research management, international co-ordination and Lean, where she has driven a continuous improvement culture within Highways England and its suppliers.  A passionate advocate of change and improvement in the construction industry, she has a strong record in leading and delivering improvements in asset management, engineering and technical assurance.

Ross Bullerwell

Managing Director, NY Highways

Ross Bullerwell, managing director of NY Highways Ltd, is a former managing director at Rennicks UK Ltd, a director at Amey LG, managing director at DBI Services UK and local authority highways lead. Ross has 25 years’ experience in highways and construction as a contractor and client for both the public and private sector, with an understanding of the demands and pressures faced by all sides.

Paul Boss

CEO, Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA)

Paul is Chief Executive at the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) and prior to this had over 30 years’ experience within local authority highways, both directly with local authorities and with Tier 1 provider Amey. From 2005 to 2020, he was Highway Asset Manager looking after strategic, tactical and operational highway asset management in Staffordshire. He joined Amey in 2014 as part of the Staffordshire County Council / Amey Infrastructure+ Strategic Highway Partnership where he also managed teams responsible for the design of structural, preventative and structures schemes within the Partnership.

Talking about his hopes for the board, he commented: “My hope is that authorities will have confidence in the LCRIG Infrastructure Innovation Board to see products and processes have been objectively assessed and when successfully trialled in one or two authorities, they will embrace them and make them a part of their efficient and effective highway asset management. It will benefit authorities by allowing them to reap the benefits of using innovative products and processes earlier and improve their management of the highway network for the benefit of all their stakeholders.”

Jeff Elliott

Highway Network & Traffic Manager for Highways, Transport and Planning - West Sussex County Council

Jeff has extensive experience from across the highways function including working as a civil engineer on road and bridge schemes and more recently local government highways and transport teams up to head of service. He has specialised in street works as it offered him greater interest and opportunity with the added benefit of constant evolution of tasks, methods, and relationships to explore.

Talking about his role on the board, he said: “I see my participation in the Infrastructure Innovation Board as an opportunity to grow my knowledge and to offer direct influence in the field of innovative highway materials use and repair technologies. I will also look to use my position within the street works community to promote and encourage the early uptake of these innovations across utility works promoters and local government authorities alike.”

David Capon

CEO, JAG (UK)

David has undertaken various roles within the UK street works industry since 1987 in both the private and public sector and has played a central role locally, regionally and nationally as the legislation changed from PUSWA to NRSWA and now the TMA. This has included the development of National Policy and Legislation, the development of Electronic Transfer of Data and the delivery of training nationally.

He undertook the role of JAG(UK) Manager in 2009 JAG(UK) Manager and became CEO of JAG(UK) in April 2020. JAG(UK) provides strategic direction to authorities in terms of their approach to street and roads works.

Talking about the role of the board, David said: “LCRIG provides the perfect platform to deliver change through innovation and I am particularly looking forward to being part of the board. Changes to delivery models, materials and technology are all necessary to meet the challenges of climate change. The Covid 19 pandemic has also highlighted resilience issues which can be mitigated by innovation. In essence we need to seize the moment.”

Paul Carter

North West Streetworks Manager, Cadent Gas

Martin Duffy

Chief Executive, LCRIG and Chair, NY Highways

Martin has almost 40 years’ experience in the highways sector having started his career with local government in the early 80’s. Over the past 20 years he has held a number of high-profile roles in the private sector which include that of a Partner in a global design consultancy, a Director in Kier Highways and more recently as a joint owner of his own consultancy D2M2.

Throughout his career Martin has played a significant role in the highways sector having held advisory positions with CIHT, ACE, HMEP and with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He has spoken at numerous national conferences and authored several industry guidance documents on the subjects of procurement, funding strategies, performance management and collaboration. He remains influential in helping to shape future highways delivery models by ensuring SMEs have the opportunity to access public sector contracts.