Devon ALC welcomes wardens plans

The Devon Association of Local Councils has welcomed the County Council’s plans to enlist the support of local communities to help maintain Devon’s 8,000 mile road network.

Devon County Council is looking to recruit an army of community Road Warden volunteers from town and parish councils – similar to its successful Snow Warden scheme. The volunteers would undertake minor maintenance work which the County Council is currently unable to do.

The Road Wardens, who would be nominated by a town council, a parish council or a group of parish councils working together. They would receive training from Devon County Council and would act as the primary point of contact between the local community and Devon County Council.

The idea has been launched at the County Council’s recent highways conferences with town and parish councils, and Ken Browse, Chairman of The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and Chairman of the Devon Association of Local Councils, believes Devon could become a national flagship.

Councillor Browse said: “It’s positive that Devon County Council is talking to us and looking to work with us to see what we can do. It’s a change in thinking, but that’s what we need.

“Our community leaders have got to look to their community. The community knows their own area and the issues that need to be dealt with. At the end of the day we are here for our communities. If parish and town councils have enthusiastic individuals we are always up for the job. That will always be the case.”

The Road Wardens would co-ordinate volunteers to ensure they are appropriately trained and registered in order to be covered by the County Council’s public liability insurance to carry out minor work. The volunteers would be trained to specific levels required to enable them to carry out work ranging from weed clearance and sign cleaning to grass and hedge cutting, and small pothole and surface defect repairs.

The Road Wardens would not replace County Council staff, but would focus on maintenance which enhances the quality of the local environment, while the County Council would continue to fix safety defect potholes and other maintenance safety prioritises on the highway.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management and Flood Prevention, said: “There is massive pressure on our highways service which means we can no longer do as many of the minor highways work on our roads as frequently as we would like, such as sign cleaning and grass cutting. Devon County Council’s revenue budget is being reduced year on year, and we don’t receive enough money to keep doing all of the routine work, or do some work as frequently, as we have been able to do in the past.

“Our budget is being spread extremely thinly across the network. We need to find a different approach by calling on the help of local communities and we’re looking to respond positively to offers of help that we’ve received from local communities. Having reflected on some successful self-help schemes already completed we have developed a scheme to enable our communities to work with us; we want to empower communities to take local action. The Road Wardens would not replace County Council staff but they can provide local communities with an additional resource to that organise and carry out work that we are unable to do.

“We’ve already started to talk to town and parish councils about how we prioritise our spending. It’s important that we are already having the conversation on how to work together more closely to deal with the challenge of delivering priority highway maintenance work and meeting the local priorities of communities on the road network. The Road Wardens would provide a vital link between their community and local highways staff to co-ordinate their resources based on their local priorities.”

Town and parish councils have already demonstrated the vital role they can play, and a number of proactive town and parish councils have already taken on minor maintenance work. Northam Town Council has employed its own lengthsman and purchased its own mower to cut grass verges.

Bideford Town Council has held “tidy town” days where members of the community join in a mass de-weeding.

Residents at Harcombe, near Sidford, in East Devon rallied together to improve the surface of the road leading into their community. With road planing materials provided by Devon County Council, the community carried out a temporary repair themselves.

And around 285 town and parish councils have signed up to the County Council’s snow warden scheme in recent years.

“People realise that funding isn’t available but, together, even doing a bit can make a difference,” Councillor Browse added. “The money isn’t there as it was when everything was provided, but with our help the money can go further. Every little helps.

“I would like to think that we can showcase our parish council, and Devon as a whole, when we talk to Ministers in future.”

The County Council has already had to cut its highways revenue budget by £18.5 million since 2010, with another £3.4 million planned in 2015/16. By 2016/17, Devon County Council will have to carry out highway maintenance with 60% less funding than in 2009/10.

As well as declining budgets, the condition of Devon’s highway network has also been hit by severe weather in recent winters. The impact of the weather of the last two winters alone, has caused more than £42 million worth of damage to Devon’s roads. The combination of these factors has left Devon County Council facing a highway maintenance backlog which now stands at £758 million, which would be cost of bringing the county’s entire network up to a good standard.