October 2024
 |
|
It was great to meet face to face and chat with representatives from many of the Parish and Town Council’s that attended the DALC Conference earlier this month. The opportunity to understand the frustrations that our local communities are experiencing helps us to think about how we deliver services differently and how we can work together better with communities.
As we look towards the busy winter period I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those volunteers that are supporting their communities, particularly the Snow Wardens. If you’re interesting in know more about the Snow Warden role you can find more information below.
|
Each of the gritters has been serviced and calibrated over the summer period, the salt barns have been restocked and we’re watching the forecast, ready to go. Let’s hope that the weather is kind to us over the next 6 months or so.
I look forward to seeing you at the future DALC Connect Events; please see 'Upcoming events' for more details.
Rob Richards, Deputy Director - Highways and Infrastructure Development
|
In January this year members and communities were again invited to express their interest in new 20mph limits for their communities.
A further £150,000 had been secured in our Road Safety Capital Allocation for the 24/25 tranche (See Item 210).
|
|
 |
Expressions of interest submitted were scored and prioritised along with those that had been received in previous tranches, in total 169 submissions were assessed in this process. It was is anticipated that up to 6 further communities (depending upon the size of the schemes) could benefit from new 20mph limits in this Tranche.
However, scoring has presented a dilemma, the top 5 submissions attracted scores of 13 and 12;
|
Central Ward, Barnstaple
|
13
|
|
Buckfastleigh
|
12
|
|
Cheriton Bishop
|
12
|
|
Totnes
|
12
|
|
Cullompton
|
12
|
The 6th position was occupied by 12 submissions all attracting a score of 11; Dartmouth, Halwill, Kingsbridge, Kingswear, Lamerton, Langtree, Lynton and Lynmouth, Milton Abbot, Lydford (School Road), Sydenham Damerel, Thurlestone, and Kilmington.
Therefore, it is proposed that these 12 submissions are progressed through 25/26 and 26/27 (dependent on funding). Opportunities for communities to self-fund will remain.
All tranche 1 schemes are complete and Tranche 2 schemes advertised with agreement from Local Members on how they will be progressed to implementation over the coming months. Completion of Tranche 2 sites is expected by the end of the financial year.
Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) AGM
|
|
 |
 |
|
At the DALC AGM many of you joined us for a workshop focussed on tackling Devon’s pressing highways challenges. The session delved into the innovative strategies we are employing to address the issues, including the latest updates on bus travel and infrastructure. The workshop concluded with an open Q&A session – an opportunity to engage directly with DCC representatives.
|
|
The feedback that we received, both during the annual conference and afterwards, has generally been very positive.
A spokesperson from DALC said, "It is a testament to your commitment to working more closely with parish councils to see so many team members represented and engaged with our audience".
|
|
 |
 |
|
Winter readiness for Snow Wardens
You can update your Snow Warden's contact details via our online form.
If your Snow Warden hasn't completed their free, online training yet they can email us to sign up.
|
We have already issued our first winter message to Snow Wardens which contained helpful information regarding our winter service, grit bins, requesting salt and more. You can read it on our website. If your Snow Warden didn't receive this message please let us know by email so that we can stay in touch with them.
Additional salt for Snow Warden use
If your Snow Warden has completed their free, online training and prepared a suitable storage place, you can request up to an additional 5 tonnes of salt via our online form. We will begin processing all salt requests early in November. Please only order salt if you have less than 75% of your salt stock still available. If delivery is refused following a request, your parish or town council may be asked to cover any costs incurred as a result of the refusal.
You can also request for the grit bins in your area to be filled when they are low by reporting the issue using our interactive map.
Please help us to keep gritting routes clear
If your community has a newsletter or uses any social media platforms you can help us by asking people to park considerately on our gritting routes. You can check whether a road is on a gritting route using our interactive map (when you zoom in the routes are marked in red and blue).
|
|
 |
 |
|
In response to your feedback we're delighted to announce that the budget available to support town and parish councils who wish to carry out some highway maintenance has been increased.
You can apply for Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement funding using our online form.
The next Road Warden Board where we consider applications made to the Highways Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund (HMCEF) is scheduled for November. Where possible we will fast track applications for materials associated with pothole repair.
|
We hope that you can join us for the following DALC supported events:
- How are our Roads Maintained? - 18th October 2024
- Understanding Roadworks - 5th December 2024
- Investment in Highways Infrastructure - 6th February 2025
- Highways and the Planning System - 3rd April 2025
You can find more details as well as recordings and links from previous Connect Events on the DALC website.
You can find highways information for town and parish councils on our website. We are working on improving these pages for you so please save them to your favourites. If there are topics you would like to know more about either on our website or in our newsletter please let us know.
|
