Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2019, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2019 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that Councillors Radford and Berry be elected Chair and Vice-Chair respectively for the ensuing year.

Items which in the opinion of the Chairman should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There was no matter raised as a matter of urgency.

Presentation by the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste.

The Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste gave a presentation which covered: the Annual Programme for 2019-20 (Capital Works); Design/Delivery; Cyclical Works; Programmes; and Doing What Matters.

Doing What Matters was a different approach from a largely data-led process to a more stream-lined pragmatic system-thinking approach for highways maintenance.  Members welcomed the approach with an emphasis on local Member and Neighbourhood Highways Officer input.

There followed discussion with Members and Officers around gully cleaning, data, and programme works for the Parishes, which the Highways Programme Officer undertook to circulate to Members.   An interactive map showing current and planned roadworks was available at https://roadworks.org/.

An invitation was extended to Members to visit the Doing What Matters team in Okehampton.

[N.B. Presentation attached]

Presentation by the Chief officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste.

The Committee received a presentation from the Assistant Project Manager on a proposed permit scheme for approving works on the highway and the introduction of statutory regulations. The presentation covered:

·         the current noticing system for informing the County Council as Highways Authority of proposed road works;

·         the Council’s statutory duty to co-ordinate works and reduce disruption;

·         the requirement for all local authorities to consider introducing a scheme by April 2020;

·         the project timeline;

·         the scope covering all statutory undertakers and DCC Highway works and in phase 2 all other privately licensed works;

·         types of highway works included in the proposed scheme; 

·         permit discounts available for recommended good practice; and

·         range of conditions.   

Discussion points with the Officers included:

·         that retrospective permits could be applied for in emergency situations, e.g. gas or water leaks;

·         the problem with redundant road signs left on roadsides after works had been completed and whether fixed penalty notices could be issued;

·         the proposed timeline included a period for consultation before ‘going live’ in March 2020;

[N.B. presentation attached and additional information on the Scheme is available at: www.devon.gov.uk/workspermit-scheme]

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/79), attached.

The Committee noted the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/79) on action taken in consultation with the Chair and Local Members under Delegated Powers.

[An item to be taken under s18 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 relating to any reviews of parking policy sought in line with the Council’s Petition Scheme]

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=416&MId=2487&Ver=4&info=1

There was no current petition for a parking review from a member of the public relating to

Mid Devon.