Northumberland County Council

Why Northumberland chose FixMyStreet Pro

Northumberland’s large and geographically dispersed highway network demands an efficient and consistent way for residents to report local problems.

Historically, multiple contact routes for reporting faults produced complicated triaging, increased manual administration and exacerbated ambiguity for residents about who was responsible. Consequences included expensive duplication, delays, limited transparency, and weak data visibility.

Highways drainage issues were a particular flashpoint for the council. From a reporting perspective, ad hoc reports were impacting on planned cyclic maintenance activity for gully cleansing, while unclear ownership and maintenance of landowner drainage systems led to misreporting and manual intervention.

The Council therefore put together a comprehensive and considered plan to alleviate demand where possible and make better use of resources. Management of in-bound reports from members of the public was identified as one of the key areas for improvement, with five clear objectives in mind:

1. Accessibility and inclusion;
2. Right-first-time routing;
3. Transparency and trust;
4. Operational efficiency;
5. Data-driven decisions.

Seeing how FixMyStreet Pro had enabled other councils to achieve similar goals, and knowing that it could be integrated into existing asset management systems, Northumberland selected FixMyStreet Pro as its replacement reporting software.

The resulting service provides a single, user-friendly platform for reporting highways and environmental issues, accessible 24/7 via mobile and desktop. Smart routing, real-time updates, data-rich reports and integration with the council’s back-office systems help ensure that reports reach the right people with the information they need.

Displaying assets on the map

The Council was able to set up different categories for different types of drainage issues to help with internal triaging within the integrated system. Upon selecting a drainage-related category, users could then select the exact gully that was blocked on the map, and also upload a photo if they were able to, helping maintenance crews respond quickly and efficiently.

As Paul Jones, Director of Environment and Transport at Northumberland County Council explained in a Communities and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting in July 2024:

“In the past that was a real issue for us because you’d have to go out and basically use a bit of guesswork, so it’s a much more effective and efficient use of staff time, getting much better data and they’re able to respond to that data in a much more timely and effective manner as well.”

Driving efficiencies

With so many gullies and lots of seasonal demand, Northumberland needed to be able to minimise duplication wherever possible.

Reports that look to be within a certain radius of an existing report within the same category are suggested to users within the FixMyStreet Pro reporting workflow, and if the problem is the same they can simply subscribe to the existing report instead of double reporting. This means they will also receive any updates on the report’s progress automatically.

Similarly, where a problem is already known by the council and works are scheduled, this information is displayed on the map and actively shown to users to build trust and save the need for a report.

These changes have contributed to a 40% reduction in duplicate reports, alongside a 55% reduction in manual rekeying and a 28% reduction in resolution times. Right-first-time routing is now achieved for 92% of reports.

Detailed responses to reports

It was essential to Northumberland that their new reporting service enabled them to close the feedback loop and better manage expectations around highways services, as Paul stressed:

“Previously there was no feedback. It went into a void and you never heard anything. [Now] you’re able to track it.”

FixMyStreet Pro enabled Northumberland to set up tailored responses to different types of problems, explaining what’s happening — and, if nothing can happen, why.

This means the council can now automatically acknowledge every report with relevant information, all of which is then visible to the public via the map. In the case of the high-demand highways drainage issues, this also helped to demonstrate the Council’s 92% resolution rate, showing communities what’s being done.

The increased transparency has helped to improve the experience for residents. Overall, satisfaction has increased by 18 points, while progress-chasing contacts have reduced by 35%. 98% of users are also able to complete a report in under four minutes.

As with all authorities using FixMyStreet Pro, Northumberland has been able to analyse which status updates work best, and continues to iterate to improve the reporting experience and plug information gaps, as Paul acknowledged:

“We are trying to constantly improve the information that goes back and the feedback to the members of the public”

Avoiding the avoidable

Of course, prevention is always better than cure, and FixMyStreet Pro played a key role in helping Northumberland to reduce avoidable contact while dealing with extreme demand.

Messages can be displayed on FixMyStreet Pro at various points across the service, including on the homepage and within the reporting workflow. These can be anything from diverting genuine emergencies away from FixMyStreet Pro, to explaining the intervention criteria for individual problems to ensure people only report those that can be addressed.

Northumberland was also able to reduce instances of reports of problems relating to roads or individual assets that fell outside of its responsibility.

Sticking with the flooding example, any reports within a highways drainage category where the map pin was dropped — whether via GPS or manually by the user inputting an address — on a road managed by National Highways were automatically diverted at no extra effort from the report-maker or council staff.

Meanwhile, for reports of flooding on private land, Northumberland was able to display a message advising the report-maker that the issue could not be responded to by them — all helping to reduce avoidable demand on the service.

Being part of the wider FixMyStreet network also means reports that fall outside the Council’s responsibility can be directed to the appropriate authority, be that a neighbouring council or other body. This has helped Northumberland further reduce unnecessary handling and improve the experience for people reporting issues such as abandoned shopping trolleys.

The impact

FixMyStreet Pro has become an important part of how Northumberland manages reports from the public.

Despite a significant increase in the number of reports being received, including reports submitted by Customer Services on behalf of residents unable to use digital channels, the system has helped Northumberland to manage demand without placing additional strain on its teams.

The Council can now automatically export rich performance data to track trends, support resource planning and improve operational performance. Live heatmaps provide a clearer picture of demand across the county, while automated Power BI integration has streamlined monthly reporting processes that previously took several days and involved multiple people.

The service has also delivered a significant financial impact for Northumberland: a 12% reduction in reactive spend alongside £180,000 in annual efficiency savings and £60,000 in avoided costs.

By reducing avoidable administration, duplication and manual rekeying, these savings release capacity for frontline inspections and planned maintenance, while supporting earlier, evidence-led intervention. This helps the Council make better use of its resources and strengthen budget control across its vast rural areas, market towns and coastal communities.