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Winter 2021 Edition
Welcome to the Winter 2021 edition of our Roadmap newsletter.
Following a challenging but ultimately successful 2020/21, where we delivered our largest ever capital programme of improvements to the network, we have been disappointed to receive a £20m reduction in this year’s budget. As you can imagine, such large fluctuations in budget seriously impact our ability to effectively plan and manage programmes of work and ultimately often leave our communities frustrated that we cannot do more, particularly when draft programmes of work have been published and communicated. We continue to work hard to ensure we get the most from the funding we do receive whilst ensuring all decisions are based on achieving the best long term value as opposed to short term fixes.
Naturally, at this time of year, we look ahead to the winter season, despite the challenges associated with supply chain logistics we have good stocks of salt and all of our gritters have been serviced, calibrated and are sat ready for their first call out. I hope they have a long wait and not too much work to do over the forthcoming months.
I’m pleased to report that since we commenced the triaging of public reports we have ordered well over 30,000 repairs to potholes that don’t meet our safety criteria. Previously these potholes would have been ignored until they met our intervention criteria. Of course, with limited budgets our focus is keeping the network safe and we are unable to fix the more minor defects that are on the network.
We now are currently gearing up to go live with the next phase of our pothole improvement project. By increasing the amount of information available for both the schedulers and the repair gangs we are expecting the number of potholes repaired at the first time of asking to increase along with an improvement in the quality of the repairs.
There is a lot of information in this newsletter including additional funding opportunities and details regarding training for volunteers. We also look forward to seeing you at the Parish and Town Council conferences when the details are confirmed. We really hope this newsletter is useful to you, and your communities, and would welcome your feedback.
Finally, thank you to you and the members of your community who give up their valuable free time to volunteer to support the work that we do.
Robert Richards - Highways & Traffic Management Group Manager
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Winter 2021-22
Our Winter Service period officially starts on the 15 October through to the 15 April. This is the period in which our gritters may treat the primary salting network.
For details on how winter service and emergency operations are managed please see our Winter Service Plan.
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You fixed the wrong road!
You will often hear people say, “If it aint broke, don’t fix it”. Whilst this applies to many situations it certainly isn’t always the best strategy. For example, regular visits to a dentist and a good oral hygiene regime will prevent serious damage to our teeth and less costly treatments. A similar preventative approach is part of the strategy in managing the largest local authority highway network in England.
Managing potholes
In our last edition of Roadmap we provided you with a summary of our new approach to pothole management.
Our latest update provides further information about how we manage larger scale repairs and our Dragon Patching machines.
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Trees and landowner responsibilities
With the prevalence of ash dieback in the County it is extremely important that landowners are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to trees on their land.
To date, we have removed just over 35,000 trees next to the highway, some of which were privately owned.
We would therefore really appreciate your support in encouraging all landowners to take urgent action to assess and ultimately fell their infected ash tress where necessary.
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Carbon reduction
In 2019, Devon County Council declared a climate emergency. Within Highways, Infrastructure and Development, we have been working hard to understand our carbon emissions for our construction works and embed a business module for reduction. We are in the early stages of our journey, but we would like to share our proposed continuous improvement model with you.
Additional funding for Parish and Town Councils
To provide further support to our local communities an additional £100,000.00 fund, for Town and Parish Councils, is available in 2021/22. The fund is for projects/works that will enhance the public realm, which includes the repair and refurbishment of highway street furniture, such as lighting columns, finger posts, seats and bollards. This funding is in addition to our existing Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund which is available to support highway maintenance works and projects.
To apply for funding, please complete our Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund (HMCEF) application form
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Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC)
Cara Stobart, County Officer from DALC;
"As the tier of local government closest to communities, Parish and Town Councils are well placed to identify and respond to minor issues on their local roads and footpaths.
Whether it is blocked drainage ditches or weed clearance, dirty road signs or winter ice, Parish and Town Councils understand which issues are more problematic and have a significant impact on the wellbeing of their communities.
Through the various self-service community mobilisation schemes, such as the Highways Self Help Scheme and the Snow Warden Scheme, Parish and Town Councils are able to respond quickly to local issues as they arise, ensuring their residents can keep moving safely.
After the challenges of the past 18 months, we have seen community groups grow and thrive in response to the pandemic. Why not harness some of that enthusiasm for volunteering and channel it into other community self help schemes such as these."
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Snow Warden Scheme
Our snow warden scheme currently supports over 300 parish and town council's to deliver a local snow plan during prolonged periods of cold weather. If you are part of the scheme, and require more salt this year, please complete our salt ordering form as soon as possible so that deliveries can be arranged in good time.
If you are not involved but would like to sign up, and access up to 5 tonnes of salt to be used on the highway in your community, please complete our Snow Warden form.
We are currently developing a training package which we hope to be available at the end of October. This will be a free resource and will available for all new and existing Snow Wardens.
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Grit bins
In preparation for the winter period, please let us know of any empty or damaged grit bins, or any with contents that are unusable, via our report a problem page.
Where possible, it would be great if all bins that require attention can be reported at the same time so they can be re-filled/replaced in as fewer visits as possible.
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Road Warden and Community self help works
We know that many Parish and Town Councils and community groups are doing some amazing work within their local communities, whether it is through the Road Warden Scheme or through community self help projects.
Please remember to make your Neighbourhood Highway Officer aware of any highway works beforehand so that they can offer you the necessary support, advice and guidance.
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Free training
Devon County Council continue to provide free training to volunteers. The following is a list of courses that we currently fund;
- Highway Safety Awareness Training (e-learning)
- Traffic Management for Community Events
- SWQR Unit 2 Signing, lighting and guarding (chapter 8)
The above list is not exhaustive and the level of training required will depend on the project that you would like to undertake. Please discuss any potential projects with your Neighbourhood Highway Officer who will be able to provide the necessary support and advice.
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Chapter 8 renewal training
We are aware that there may be a number of volunteers, who carry out minor highway works within communities, who need to attend chapter 8 renewal training in the near future (the qualification expires after 5 years).
In order to attend, volunteers will need to have their existing street works card/number. If this has been lost or mislaid, please contact the Street Works Qualification Register who will be able to assist.
If you would like any advice or guidance regarding training please contact the Highway Services Team.
Parish Paths Partnership Scheme
The Parish Paths Partnerships Scheme (also known as the P3 scheme) is an initiative to ensure that the rights of way network is properly maintained and well publicised. It has the support of the National Association of Local Councils and is Devon County Council funded.
For more information, and for copies of the newsletter, please visit our Parish Paths Partnership webpages.
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Parish and Town Council conferences
Due to ongoing concerns with infections across the County due to the pandemic we have decided to hold our Parish & Town Council conferences as virtual events.
Thank you to all of you who have provided feedback on the issues you would like covered.
Further details, and confirmation of the dates, will be sent shortly. Please keep an eye on your inbox!
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Neighbourhood Highway Officers
Each electoral division has a designated Neighbourhood Highway Officer (NHO) who provides local support and information on highway matters. They are your main point of contact for Devon Highways.
Over the next few weeks we will contact you directly to provide further information relating to your NHO and their contact details.
Report a problem
We have a dedicated, customer friendly, webpage designed to allow members of the public to log a variety of problems, such as potholes, blocked drains and broken streetlights etc. Many local Councils post a link to this page on their own website, both as a useful service to their community but also to direct members of the public to the correct Council.
Please be aware we do not currently accept reports from fix my street as they often do not provide enough information to be able to accurately locate or assess an issue.
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Roadworks Information
Road closures, diversions and other roadworks can often cause concern within local communities. However, there are a number of webpages available that can help you find out what is happening in your local area;
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Devon County Council's roadworks map displays present, future and completed works
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One.network shows all planned works by utility companies, DCC and others, alongside the diversion routes and other useful information. You can set up alerts to warn you when new works are scheduled in a specific area
- We also publish a number of dedicated webpages for works which have the potential to cause major disruption and for major schemes, the majority of which have received substantial investment from the Department of Transport
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Flood Risk Management
For information on protecting communities and improving resilience please visit our Flood Risk Management webpages.
Parish and Town Council webpages
A number of years ago, we developed a dedicated parish and town council website with the intention of creating a "one stop shop" for parish and town council's to easily access highway information.
Do you use this webpage? Were you aware of it? What else would you like to see on it? Please use the feedback form on the site to let us know.
Previous copies of Roadmap are available on the website.
Pinpoint Devon is a searchable online directory of community services available in Devon. Parish and Town Council contact information is listed alongside other local services, groups and information on just about anything from careers, through to hobbies and learning.
The details on Pinpoint are those that we will use when we contact Parish and Town Councils directly. All those registered on Pinpoint have recently been contacted to ensure that all details are up to date. If you did not get this email, or are not registered, please visit the page for further information.
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