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Autumn / Winter 2025
On behalf of Councillor Dan Thomas (Cabinet Member for Highways) and Meg Booth (Director of Climate Change, Environment & Transport) we are pleased to share an autumn/winter edition of our Roadmap newsletter.
This edition features changes to on-street parking charges, mobile traffic enforcement, events to strengthen community resilience, and information to help your community prepare for winter.
If you have suggestions for topics that are important to your community which you'd like us to feature please let us know.
Councillors scrutinise then back on-street parking charge increase
One of our committees charged with reviewing and ensuring the transparency of council decisions has backed a move to increase on-street parking charges.
The increases were approved in September by our cabinet member for highways Dan Thomas – however some councillors had concerns and ‘called in’ the decision, a process whereby a decision or proposal is re-examined by a scrutiny committee.
At the Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday (October 22) some councillors were concerned that the increases could affect trading conditions and impact residents.
But Councillor Thomas said that the increases were part of our long-standing parking management policy to reduce congestion by encouraging drivers to use car parks over on-street parking bays.
This is done by reviewing on-street parking charges regularly to ensure that on-street parking has a slightly higher tariff than district council-owned carparks.
He added that by law any surplus income from parking charges could only be used for local transport schemes, such as bus services, or for highway maintenance and environmental improvements.
The committee voted to back the original decision but also requested that the cabinet reviewed the frequency of future car parking charge adjustments, as well as the maximum price cap.
Members also supported continued partnership working with district councils regarding the future uplift of their car park charges.
Mobile traffic enforcement - Cameras in Barnstaple and Exeter are coming online
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Motorists across Devon are being reminded that cameras to enforce motoring restrictions are starting to go live.
The cameras are enforcing a mix of restrictions, including bus gates and bus lanes, in two of Devon’s largest communities, Exeter and Barnstaple.
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Devon County Council is one of a number of local authorities in England that now has the power to enforce Moving Traffic Offences – previously enforcement could only be carried out by the police.
These powers allow help to improve road safety, support active travel and public transport by addressing issues caused by drivers that contravene the rules of the road called Moving Traffic Offences.
The sites where cameras are being introduced are:
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Bus Gate, Old Torrington Road, Sticklepath, Barnstaple
No Right Turn, The Square, Barnstaple
Bus Gate, Taw Vale, Barnstaple
Bus Gate, Wonford Road, Exeter
Bus Lane, Topsham Road, Exeter
Bus Lane, Fore Street Heavitree, Exeter
Bus Lane, Cowick Street, Exeter
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During the first week of operation, the camera at Wonford Road, Exeter detected over 1000 contraventions. Each driver will now receive a warning notice to alert them so they can avoid incurring future penalty notices.
Events
At the DALC Annual Conference on 27th September, we had the pleasure of meeting many of you, sharing updates on our current initiatives, and discussing the support available for volunteers in your communities. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your experiences and priorities with us; it was a valuable and inspiring exchange.
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On 9th October, we participated in a Community Resilience Forum hosted by Devon Communities Together, alongside representatives from the National Grid, BT, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, East Devon District Council, the Environment Agency, the Emergency Planning Partnership, and other local authority resilience and emergency planning teams.
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The event focused on helping communities prepare for extreme weather events and featured a practical desktop exercise. This exercise enabled participants to test existing Community Emergency Plans, revise outdated ones, or develop new plans from scratch, ensuring communities are better equipped to respond effectively in times of crisis. |
Snow Wardens: Preparing for winter
We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to all the volunteer Snow Wardens who support their communities throughout the winter. Your dedication and resilience make a real difference, especially during challenging weather conditions.
A separate newsletter specifically for Snow Wardens will be sent out shortly. However, we wanted to take this opportunity to share some important information with all communities to help you prepare for winter.
It's important that we hold up to date details for Snow Wardens. Please take a moment to update the details for your town and parish using our online form, even if you believe the details we hold are correct. If your Snow Warden is no longer active please let us know by email so that we can update our records.
Free online training
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We have created free online training for Snow Wardens.
Topics include:
- Creating your local Snow Plan
- Risk assessments and staying safe
- Grit bins and salt bags
If you haven't yet completed this training you can email us to sign up.
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Request additional salt supplies
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If you have completed your online training you can request up to 5 tonnes of additional salt to use in your town or parish. Please only order salt if you have less than 75% of your salt stock still available.
Devon County Council will provide the additional salt free of charge, however if delivery is refused the Parish/Town Council may be asked to cover any costs incurred as a result of the refusal.
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Grit bins
Please check the grit bins in your area as soon as possible.
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You can use our interactive map to report grit bins
- with low salt levels
- that are damaged
- where the salt is contaminated or unusable
Grit bins are an expensive asset in terms of maintenance. If you think you need a new bin we will check if it is possible to re-site an existing bin (if there is evidence to suggest it isn’t being used) first.
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Where there are no options to re-site existing bins and we agree a new bin is needed then then this needs to be funded through the local councillor budget (where locality budgets are not available then funding may need to come directly from the Parish or Town Council). The cost remains at £350 which covers the installation, filling and ongoing maintenance costs for the life of the grit bin.
If you would like to request a new grit bin please contact our Customer Service Centre to start the process.
Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement (HMCE) Fund
Towns, parishes and communities in Devon can apply for small grants towards improvements to the roadside environment, including minor pothole repairs. The HMCE Fund can be used for protective clothing, materials and tools for volunteers.
We're delighted to announce that the budget for the HMCE Fund has been increased in year, ensuring that we're able to support even more communities to help maintain roads in their area.
Emergency Resilience Grant
The Devon Community Resilience Forum has an Emergency Resilience Grant scheme to support communities across the county affected by extreme weather events.
The initiative offers two funding schemes:
- Scheme 1 up to £250 to help communities to develop emergency plans
- Scheme 2 up to £1,500 to support small scale works and resilience equipment for those communities that have an emergency plan in place or are in the process of preparing one.
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