Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2019, (attached).

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 29 July 2019 be signed as a correct record, subject to the deletion of the declaration of interest (Minute *48 refers).  

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

No item was raised as a matter of urgency.

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

The Committee received a presentation from the Highways Systems 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 coordinate works and reduce disruption;

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

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

·         types of highway works included in the proposed scheme; 

·         permit discounts available for recommended good practice; and

·         the range of conditions permitted.   

Discussion points with the Officers included:

·         fee levels and limits were determined by the Regulations and designed for the recovery of costs (with an additional 12.4 FTE staff proposed and recovery of start-up costs was not permissible) and surpluses were not permitted under the Scheme; and changes to fee levels could be made  (reviewed annually for the first three years then three yearly thereafter) as appropriate; 

·         the Scheme allowed for the provision of financial incentives for good working practices relating to collaboration, innovation and high standards for example and ‘traffic sensitive’ street data was available on-line for the Utilities and other interested parties;

·         the provisions within the proposed scheme for emergency works which also allowed for the imposition of reasonable conditions by the County Council as appropriate;

·         there was no provision for the setting of ‘bonds’ to recover additional costs arising from poor quality reinstatement  but fines (Fixed Penalty Notices) to recover additional costs were permissible;

·         it was envisaged that there would be environmental benefits arising from the new scheme relating to reduction in congestion/delays for example; 

·         the Scheme would apply equally to the Local Authority and its contractors as well as Utilities and private contractors; and consultation about pending schemes could include local Highways Neighbourhood Officer and Members if appropriate and conditions should also detail diversion routes where applicable;

·         the proposed timeline included a period for consultation before ‘going live’ in March 2020 for statutory undertakers and Devon Highways; and March 2021 for private contractors.

The Chair thanked the Officer for the informative presentation.

[N.B. presentation attached to these minutes of this meeting and additional information on the Scheme was available at: www.devon.gov.uk/workspermit-scheme]

(In accordance with Standing Order 23(2) Councillor McInnes has requested that the

Committee consider this matter)

(In accordance with Standing Order 23 (2) Councillor McInnes had requested that the Committee consider speed restrictions on the B3215 following the receipt of a petition presented at the County Council meeting on 3 October 2019)

Mrs M Wilson (Chair, Sampford Courtenay Parish Council) attended and spoke in accordance with  Standing Order 25 (2) in support of a proposal for speed restrictions and presented the Sampford Courtenay Parish Road Safety Plan 2019 which referred to speed restrictions at the Belstone Corner Junction with Station Road. She now proposed a reduction in the speed limit from 60 mph to 40 mph and other traffic calming measures.

The Group Neighbourhood Highways Manager reported that following a previous request submitted by the Parish Council in 2017 involving this length of Road a referral had been made to the Safety Compliance Action Review Forum (SCARF). Following analysis of speed and road traffic collision data the Forum had recommended a signage review and accordingly a scheme was being designed which was subject to consultation. Further traffic monitoring and speed analysis would also be undertaken over a wider area to include this stretch of Road.

It was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Leech and

RESOLVED

(a) that Officers consult with the Parish Council and local Member about the details of the proposed Signage Scheme; and

(b) that further traffic speed monitoring be carried out prior to and following the introduction of new signage for report to a future meeting of this Committee. 

[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 (https://new.devon.gov.uk/democracy/guide/constitutionparts2-4/part-4-section-7-petition-scheme/).

No petition for a parking review from a member of the public relating to West Devon had been received.

Report of the Chief Officer, Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/82), attached

The Committee noted the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/82) on the actions taken by the Chief Officer under Delegated Powers since the last meeting.   

The Committee dates are as follows

4 March (Okehampton), 20 July (Tavistock) and 27 October 2020 (Okehampton), and 22 March 2021 (Tavistock).

Meetings will start at 10.30 am and alternate between Kilworthy House, Tavistock and Town Council Offices, Okehampton.

9 March (Okehampton), 16 July (Tavistock) and 23 October (Okehampton) 2018 and 22 March (Tavistock) 2019 (all at 10.30 alternating between Kilworthy House, Tavistock and Town Council Offices, Okehampton).

The County Council Calendar of meetings was available on the website: http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1