Present:-

Devon County Council:-

Councillors Channon, Hone, S Hughes, Knight, Moulding, Randall Johnson and Wright

East Devon District Council:-

Councillors Bond, Buxton and Stott

Apologies:-

Devon County Councillors Bowden, Diviani, B Hughes and Wragg

*32 Minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2014 be signed as a correct record.

*33 Traffic Calming at West Hill Road, Ottery St Mary

(An item taken under Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972)

The Chairman had decided that the Committee should consider this item as a matter of urgency in order that the Committee may be appraised of the views of District Councillor Howard on traffic calming proposals on this section of road.

Councillor Howard spoke to this item at the invitation of the Committee and expressed concerns over proposals to implement speed cushions at the location.

The Committee discussed both the benefits and potential safety risks associated with the proposed speed cushions and with chicane priority systems.

It was MOVED by Councillor S Hughes and SECONDED by Councillor Moulding and

RESOLVED that a site visit be arranged to allow Members to review the traffic calming

proposals at West Hill.

*34 Devon Highways Update

The Committee received a presentation by the Head of Highways, Capital Development Waste. The Managing Director of South West Highways also attended and spoke at the invitation of the Committee updating Members on Devon Highways issues. The presentation and discussions covered:

the Devon Highways Strategy of Delivering as Efficiently as Possible, Enabling Community Self-help and Managing Demand;

a comparison of pothole frequency between February 2014 and October 2014, showing a dramatic increase in potholes after Christmas 2013, with extra gangs deployed to fix potholes to match demand;

the increase in pothole repair productivity over the year, due to more efficient processes being put in place;

the impact of additional central government funding for highway repairs being allocated only in the spring and early summer and the difficulties that this created in delivering repairs efficiently;

the use of Town and Parish Conferences to consult with and advise communities on how they can deliver services and access funding for community self-help projects and the potential to lobby Department for Transport for funding for such projects.

*35 Community Self Help and the Road Warden Scheme

The Committee received a presentation by the Head of Highways, Capital Development and Waste covering Community Self Help Schemes and the Road Warden Scheme. The Managing Director of South West Highways also attended and spoke at the invitation of the Committee. The presentation and discussions covered:

the success in some areas of enabling communities and individuals to carry out work on the highway such as hedge cutting and minor drainage cleaning work;

examples of cases where communities have funded non-urgent road repair works, with materials being provided by the County Council;

the use of Community Payback scheme workers for low skill, high impact works such as weed clearing;

the Road Warden Scheme and the training required to undertake this role;

the challenges for smaller parishes to set up projects where resources and funding are very low;

issues around the use of single year funding;

the restrictions and legalities placed on both the County Council and community self-help projects for dealing with spoil;

the use of Town and Parish Conferences to promote community self-help schemes and raise awareness of the support available from the County Council in terms of funding, training and guidance;

the important role of Members in promoting community self-help schemes in their wards and the potential use of locality budgets for relevant projects.

It was MOVED by Councillor S Hughes and SECONDED by Councillor Moulding and

RESOLVED

(a) that County Councillors be sent copies of any correspondence from the Highways, Capital Development and Waste service area to Town and Parish Councils, which related to community self-help projects in their division;

(b) that details of the training required by individuals to carry out various types of highway and roadside works under community self-help projects would be circulated to the Committee.

*36 Action Taken Under Delegated Powers

(a) Woodbury to Exe Estuary Trail Cycle Route

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment (PTE/14/73 - text only | pdf PTE/14/73) setting out action taken under delegated powers to lay 6mm flat rumble strips on this cycle route and for Officers to undertake additional speed checks following the work to ascertain if further speed reduction measures were required.

(b) Traffic Regulation Orders

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Highways, Capital Development and Waste (HCW/14/76 - text only | pdf HCW/14/76) setting out action taken under delegated powers on advertised Traffic Regulation Orders since the last meeting.

*37 Dates of Future Meetings

Thursday 5 March 2015, Friday 24 July 2015, Friday 27 November 2015 and Friday 18 March 2016, all at the Knowle, Sidmouth at 10.00am.

*DENOTES DELEGATED MATTER WITH POWER TO ACT

The meeting started at 10.00 am and finished at 11.13 am.

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