28 November 2014

Present:-

Devon County Council:-

Councillors Brazil, Croad, Gilbert, Hart, Hawkins, Hosking and Vint

South Hams District Council:-

Councillor Hannaford

Apologies:-

Councillor Coulson (SHDC)

*27 Election of Chairman

RESOLVED that Councillor Croad be elected Chairman for the ensuing year.

*28 Election of Vice-Chairman

RESOLVED that Councillor Hawkins be elected Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.

*29 Minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2014 be signed as a correct record.

*30 The Community Self-Help and the Community Road Warden Schemes

The Committee received a presentation by the Head of Highways, Capital Development Waste on Community Self-Help in undertaking minor highways works and the Road Warden Scheme. The presentation and discussions covered:

the two recent Town and Parish Conferences held to promote and explain Community Self-Help and the Community Road Warden Scheme and raise awareness of the support available from the County Council in terms of training, advice and supply of materials etc which had been attended by approximately 70 local council representatives;

a leaflet produced by the County Council for distribution by local councils to householders/landowners to encourage them to help manage roadside hedges and trees;

the revised operation of the Parish Lengthsman service which was now focused on the annual clean of drainage features, and the action taken by local councils (e.g. Hawkchurch, Mary and Peter Tavy) to purchase additional lengthsman services from South West Highways or employ other operatives, with some using the Town and Parish Fund or raising their own precept for this purpose;

successful examples of Community Self-Help in East Devon and the South Hams where farmers and other landowners had undertaken basic repairs to minor roads with their own plant and materials provided by the County Council following road closures;

the Community Payback scheme where low skill, high impact work such as weed clearing was undertaken by offenders under supervision for which local councils could make their own arrangements with the Probation Service;

the role of the Road Warden which was - after training - to act as the community co-ordinator of the self-help scheme, undertake risk assessments, organise and supervise a minor works programme (including cleaning, clearance and small surface defect repairs) and volunteers and liaise with the County Council as appropriate;

the availability from the County Council of basic equipment and materials and advice on their storage and the disposal of residual materials, and the preparation of method statements for minor works;

the provision by the County Council of public liability insurance for voluntary maintenance work undertaken on the highway/footpath under the Community Road Warden scheme, subject to it being undertaken in a safe manner according to the County Council s advice; the County Council would not provide any other form of insurance cover for volunteers who undertook these activities at their own risk - however, local councils could extend their own insurance to cover volunteers at relatively low cost;

the provision by the County Council of highway safety awareness training to various levels for local council volunteers in the current year;

the essential nature of appropriate training, especially where working on the live carriageway/footway was involved and national speed limits applied;

the length of the course related to the degree of risk/supervision for which training were given - basic Level 1 training was a half-day course only;

the need for a balance between adequate training for volunteers and too much red tape and the possibility of the training requirements being seen as a disincentive by the smaller Parish Councils in particular;

a more flexible approach involving localised, bespoke training which could be supported through Members Locality Budgets;

Guidance Notes on the Community Self-Help and the Community Road Warden Schemes circulated to all HATOCS.

The Head of Service commented that the Community Road Warden and Community Self-Help Scheme Guidance Notes had been developed in direct response to those communities that had expressed a desire to undertake minor highway maintenance works within their locality. The schemes, as recently launched, were for both Town and Parish Councils to consider taking part in and were not compulsory.

*31 Devon Highways Update

The Committee received a presentation by the Head of Highways, Capital Development Waste on highway maintenance under the Voluntary Joint Venture agreement with South West Highways. Mr B Pyle, Operations Director, South West Highways also attended and spoke at the invitation of the Committee. The presentation and discussions covered:

the new improved, internet based system for the reporting of, and provision of information on, highways problems such as potholes, flooding and blocked drains, street light defects, ice hazards etc which could be accessed by mobile phones, tablets etc, enabled the response to the reported fault to be tracked, and avoided multiple reporting; Town and Parish Councils had been notified of the introduction of the new reporting system.

the backlog in the number of potholes recorded and repaired following last winter s severe weather (which had peaked at over 4500 per week) had greatly reduced with numbers having returned to around the same levels experienced last autumn, although future levels would inevitably depend on weather conditions over the coming winter;

re-circulation of links to Highways Briefings for Members and specifically that on What s Happening in Your Area drawing attention to up to date information on roadworks;

the County Council had received a Severe Weather Recovery Grant of 7 million from the Government and had been awarded 9 million following a bid to the Government s Pothole Fund, the highest award in the country;

the work taking place to meet the requirement to spend the 9 million awarded from the Pothole Fund before the end of the current financial year and the practical difficulties involved;

the case being made to the Government for additional, one-off grants to be consolidated into annual grants to facilitate scheme planning, design and implementation;

the contribution which the new reporting and tasking system and associated maps had made to improving efficiency through better targeting of manpower and funds and helping to make the case for extra funding.

(NB. The Highways Report a Problem page, the Highways Funding page and the Highway Structural Maintenance Works Programme may be found at:

https://new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/

https://new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/maintaining-roads/highways-funding/)

The Highways Briefings for Members may be found at:

https://new.devon.gov.uk/democracy/councillors-nav/briefings-for-members/highways/

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=downloadid=0BwtqG9WagiG2dmZOUWxwdHRhR3c)

*32 Modbury - Proposed Waiting Restrictions

The Committee considered the Report of the Head of Highways, Capital Development Waste (HCW/14/93 - text only | pdf HCW/14/93) on representations received during consultations on the Modbury Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

The Head of Service indicated that, in response to various parking and road safety issues raised by Modbury Parish Council, a proposed Traffic Regulation Order had been advertised in March 2014 to introduce a range of waiting controls and de-restrictions in Modbury. The consultation period had been extended to 30 April 2014 due to the amount of interest expressed and to give residents a further opportunity to comment on the proposals.

A total of 67 representations had been received during this extended consultation period which were summarised in the appendix to the Report, together with comments on the issues raised. The majority of the representations had expressed concerns regarding the lack of parking facilities already in Modbury, the potential increase in vehicle speeds and the displacement of parking if the proposals went ahead. A minority were supportive of some of the proposals due to concerns regarding obstruction of access for emergency services and private drives/accesses.

Following a review of the representations received and consultation with the local County Councillor, the Head of Service had proposed a series of amendments to the Order, which included the non-implementation of the proposed no waiting at any time restrictions in The Orchard/Scalders Lane as shown on drawing no. ENV5326/2 (B).

The Head of Service confirmed that:

a petition received on 19 May 2014 containing 12 signatures supporting waiting restrictions in The Orchard/Scalders Lane had not been considered as it had been received after the extended consultation period had closed;

the South Western Ambulance Service had no concerns about access to The Orchard/Scalders Lane area.

The local County Councillor outlined suggested compromise proposals relating to The Orchard/Scalders Lane in response to concerns expressed by local residents which were made available at the meeting.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hosking, SECONDED by Councillor Brazil and

RESOLVED

(a) that the responses to the proposed Traffic Regulation Order be noted;

(b) that the Traffic Regulation Order be implemented as recommended in Paragraph 5 of Report HCW/14/93 - text only | pdf HCW/14/93, except for the introduction of the proposed waiting restrictions in The Orchard/Scalders Lane;

(c) that The Orchard/Scalders Lane be subject to further consultation/re-advertisement based on the alternative proposals presented by the local County Councillor as shown on the plan appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

*33 A381 Footway/Cycleway - Kingsbridge Hill to The Old Toll House, Totnes

(Councillor Padfield, Harberton Parish Council attended and spoke to this item)

The Committee considered the Report of the Head of Planning, Transportation Environment (PTE/14/88 - text only | pdf PTE/14/88) seeking approval for a scheme promoted by the Totnes on the Move Community Board to provide an improved safe cycle and walking route parallel to a steep section of the A381 in the vicinity of Kingsbridge Hill, Totnes.

The scheme involved:

widening the existing footway between Kingsbridge Hill to a point south of the Old Toll House to tie in with earlier improvements to an adjoining section of the footway to create a shared use path and better access to Totnes and nearby villages;

changing the road markings in the vicinity of the improvements and north of Kingsbridge Hill which included removing the hatched area;

shortening the two lane southbound approach to construct the widened path to highway standards;

moving over 120m of kerbing, raising service covers and altering road markings.

The scheme was supported by Totnes Town Council and Harberton Parish Council and would be funded from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, the Local Transport Plan and the Town and Parish Fund.

Concerns were expressed about a pinchpoint in the unwidened section of path outside the Old Toll House where it narrowed to 0.5 metres and was considered an obstacle to users. Concerns were also expressed about the value for money of, and the need for, the scheme generally. In support of proposed scheme, the local County Councillor emphasised that the contribution of 50,000 from Local Sustainable Transport funds was dependent on the scheme being implemented by 1 April 2015 and that this was the only eligible local project that could be completed within this timescale.

It was MOVED by Councillor Gilbert, SECONDED by Councillor Hawkins and

RESOLVED

(a) that initially, and as an alternative to implementing the proposed improvement scheme, the Head of Planning, Transportation Environment be asked to approach the owner of the Old Toll House, Kingsbridge Hill, Totnes about permanently removing the obstructions in front of the property to secure adequate width of passage for pedestrians and cyclists, and if necessary negotiate the acquisition of the land involved or resort to the use of compulsory/enforcement powers, depending on its ownership;

(b) that should there be no successful outcome to the preferred actions under (a) above by 1 January 2015, the Head of Planning, Transportation Environment, in consultation with the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and local County Councillor, be authorised to approve the construction of the full scheme as shown on drawing no. B13004/7 Revision A1, subject to any necessary minor amendments, at a cost of 75,000.

*34 Action Taken Under Delegated Powers

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Highways, Capital Development Waste (HCW/14/94 - text only | pdf HCW/14/94) setting out action taken under delegated powers on advertised Traffic Regulation Orders since the last meeting.

*DENOTES DELEGATED MATTER WITH POWER TO ACT

The meeting started at 10.00am and finished at 12.10pm.

The Minutes of the South Hams Highways Traffic Orders Committee are published on the County Council s Website at:-