Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no announcements made by the Chair.

Members of the Committee will declare any interests they may have in any item to be considered at this meeting, prior to any discussion taking place on that item.

The registrable interests of Councillors of Devon County Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes. 

For details of District and or Town and Parish Twin Hatters – please see here:

County councillors who are also district, borough, city, parish or town councillors

The Chair reminded Members they should declare any interests they may have in any item to be considered, prior to any discussion taking place on that item. The details of District and or Town and Parish Twin Hatters was on the attached list - A list of county councillors who are also district, borough, city, parish or town councillors

Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2024, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held 16 July 2024 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held 16 July 2024 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/114), attached.

RESOLVED that the Committee

(a) approve in principle the shared use path improvements on Road from Tower View to Dog Village Cross, Broadclyst, shown in the drawing in Appendix 1, at an estimated cost of £134,000;

(b) approve the making and sealing of a Traffic Regulation Order implementing waiting restrictions in the vicinity of the proposed improvements, shown in the drawing in Appendix 2; and

(c) delegate authority to the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport, in consultation with the Chair of this committee and the Local County Councillors, to make minor amendments to the scheme as required.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/114) on proposals to deliver approximately 100 metres of shared-use path connecting from the Community Orchard to the Old Coach Road junction in Broadclyst, and to reduce the width of the nearby junction bell-mouth to accommodate. Further details on the proposals, including a map, were included in the report and its appendices. Appendix 3 gave details on responses to the consultation on the proposals.

Members heard that the intent of the proposals was to offer a safer route to the local secondary school (Clyst Vale Community College) for students and staff, and would hopefully encourage more people to feel confident using sustainable transport options (such as walking or cycling) to move around.

Reference was made to the loss of parking under the proposals, including a comment submitted in response to the consultation that this would have a knock-on effect on a nearby private road, Tower View.  Officers advised that it was not feasible to implement the proposals without impacting parking, and it was their view that giving priority to those walking and cycling and ensuring their safety meant that the scheme was proportionate, despite the loss of parking.

£34,000 had been spent on the design, with an approximate additional cost of £100,000 needed to complete the proposals. This funding was yet to be fully identified; as such, officers were asking for an ‘in principle’ approval from the Committee, subject to funding being identified.

Councillors Henry Gent and Sara Randall Johnson, the county councillors for the Broadclyst division, were both supportive of the proposals. It was also stated that both Clyst Vale Community College and the local parish council approved of the proposals. The local members viewed implementing a safe walking route in the area as paramount, acknowledging that the removal of some parking was disappointing but unavoidable and justified. It was also suggested that the claim in a consultation response that up to ten parking spaces would be lost is too high, as yellow lines were planned to be put in places where parking was already prohibited.

Member queries in the proposals included:

• The possible impact of buses on the route, given the narrowing of the path. Officers advised that there would not be a bus stop near the planned footpath; and

• Whether the route was wide enough to allow two mobility scooters to pass one another. Officers advised that unfortunately at the planned footpath’s narrowest points, this might not be possible, but that there would be parts of the footpath that would be wide enough to facilitate this.

It was MOVED by Councillor Gent, SECONDED by Councillor Hughes and

RESOLVED that the Committee

(a) approve in principle the shared use path improvements on Road from Tower View to Dog Village Cross, Broadclyst, shown in the drawing in Appendix 1, at an estimated cost of £134,000;

(b) approve the making and sealing of a Traffic Regulation Order implementing waiting restrictions in the vicinity of the proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

Verbal update by the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport

The Committee received a verbal update on their progress developing plans for a footway on Lyme Road, Uplyme. Members heard that this road saw a high volume of both traffic and pedestrians, but that there were missing sections of the existing footway that had poor visibility. The pedestrians included school pupils walking to Mrs. Ethelston’s Primary School (Uplyme) and Woodroffe School (Lyme Regis).

The proposals were the implementation of: a 2.5 metre footway on the northern side of the road; a 40 metre ‘give-and-take’ section, as the proposals would require the narrowing of the road; and a 20mph speed restriction through the village. It was currently designed on the basis of a 30mph speed limit. Officers advised that the local parish council were strongly in favour of a 20mph speed limit.

The next steps included the finalisation of a detailed design, the completion of a stage two road safety audit (with stage one completed), estimating cost and securing funding (with commitments from Uplyme Parish Council, Lyme Regis Town Council and Dorset Council), approval from the Committee and construction. Officers estimated that the construction could begin in approximately 12 months’ time, depending on progress and funding.

Councillor Ian Hall, who had sent his apologies, had fed his views in via the Chair, and was supportive of the plans.

Officers advised that they hoped to be able to update the Committee at a future meeting.

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/115), attached.

RESOLVED that

(a) the proposals for residents' parking in the Withycombe Road and Carter Avenue areas are not progressed and that they are not reconsidered at least until 2029; and that

(b) a review of parking availability on Exeter Road and congestion on roads to the east of Exeter Road (namely Madeira Villas, Lawn Road, Danby Terrace and Belvedere Road) is undertaken with local County Councillors and considered along with other priorities and programme.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/115) on the Exmouth Residents’ Parking Review.

An informal consultation was held in 2019 to gauge resident desire for implementation of residents’ parking. A formal consultation of five zones followed, with three of the five zones implemented in 2023. Since then, residents whose roads did not have residents’ parking had requested that the Council introduce this. Therefore, in July 2024 a report was brought to the East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee recommending that proposals to implement residents' parking in the Withycombe Road and Carter Avenue areas were advertised. This was agreed and the proposals were advertised in October 2024. The report and its appendices outlined the responses, with local residents being against the proposals. When itemised by individual road, approval rates differed greatly. Officers advised that the areas consulted on were surrounded by residents’ parking; as such, to implement small amounts of residents’ parking only for those roads who requested it would be likely to cause confusion.

Following the results of the consultation, officers were therefore recommending against the implementation of any further residents’ parking schemes in the area.

Councillor Richard Scott, County Councillor for Exmouth, expressed that the three-year embargo on further consideration that had been proposed by officers was too short, suggesting instead that the issue should not be revisited until 2029 at the earliest. Councillor Jeff Trail BEM, County Councillor for Exmouth, expressed that the roads referred to in the officer recommendations should be named; and expressed support for the officer view against implementing residents’ parking for individual streets.

There was some degree of member disagreement, such as one member expressing that preventing further consideration until 2029 was too long. A member also referred to the low engagement rate with the consultation, being concerned that there was a ‘silent majority’ that may support residents’ parking schemes being implemented, but for whatever reason did not feed their views in.

However, some members supported the sentiment of not considering the issue further for a five-year period, expressing that this issue had been considered at length and a significant degree of money spent on it. It was also noted that the low consultation response rate was regrettable but that the Committee should consider the views of those who did take the time to engage.

The work on the Exmouth Residents' Parking Review and the results of the consultation were noted by the Committee.

It was MOVED by Councillor Scott, SECONDED by Councillor Trail and

RESOLVED that

(a) the proposals for residents' parking in the Withycombe Road and Carter Avenue areas are not progressed and that they are not reconsidered at least until 2029; and that

(b) a review of parking availability on Exeter Road and congestion on roads to the east of Exeter Road (namely Madeira Villas, Lawn Road, Danby Terrace and Belvedere Road) is undertaken with local County Councillors and considered along with other priorities and programme.

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/116), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/116) on inclusive design. The Report outlined the Council’s responsibility to consider the needs of disabled people in the design and development of transport and pedestrian infrastructure.

The Report referred to a number of mechanisms by which the Local Authority aimed to ensure that infrastructure was developed in an inclusive way including through public engagement (including with stakeholders from the Voluntary and Community Sector), impact assessments, and requirements under the Equality Act 2010.

Members also received a presentation on the key aspects of the Council’s approach.

Members were supportive of the sentiment and aims of inclusive design. Key discussion points included:

• The importance of a ‘one council’ approach, namely every directorate working towards the same strategic objectives. Inclusivity was therefore important, with a member asserting that it was imperative that the ‘technical’ parts of the authority thinking about how their role can be used to support Devon residents in a ‘people-focused’ manner; and

·         The importance of the Council working with developers, such as of housing developments, to ensure that due consideration to inclusivity and similar issues is had at an early stage. This would be paramount in order to avoid later mistakes and future proof developments.

Update from committee representative.

Members noted the notes from the BUS (Bus Users and Stakeholders) Forum, 7th October 2024, commenting in particular on:

• Members not being kept up to date with service issues, such as changes due to roadworks; and

·         The seemingly high satisfaction results referred to in the notes, which a number of members commented seemed to sit in conflict with feedback they had received from the public, and general public sentiment.

[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.]

There was no petition from a member of the public or the Council relating to the East Devon district.

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/117), attached.

The Committee noted the Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/117) on actions taken under delegated powers since the last meeting.