Agenda item

The Committee considered the final report of the Task & Finish Group it had established on 17^th November 2017, to research the maintenance provision of highway hedgerows and verges. The recommendations contained within the report had been formulated by the Group following the consideration of a range of evidence over a series of meetings held between January 2018 and April 2018.

Members of the Task and Finish Group presented each of the recommendations to the Committee.

Officers had provided the Committee with an early draft of the leaflet ‘Adjacent Landowners and the Public Highway’ referenced within recommendation 2 of the report, which demonstrated how the roles and responsibilities of the highway authority and adjacent landowners would be presented.

The following queries were raised by the Committee in relation to the report:

·         It was commented that the grass areas around the Industrial Estate at Crosshands were not cut often enough. Therefore, in relation to the report, clarification was sought regarding the difference between urban and rural areas.  The Highways and Transportation Manager explained that urban and rural areas were normally delineated, from a highways perspective, by a change in speed limit with urban areas normally subject to a 30mph or occasionally 40mph limit, as opposed to rural roads which were often subject to the national speed limit and these limits reflect a change from urban to rural environments. Furthermore, that leaflet would contain clarity regarding the roles and responsibilities of the County Council and adjacent landowners for highway verges, hedges and roadside ditches.  The Head of Highways and Transportation added that the Crosshands Industrial Estate contained a mix of roads and that a new section of road would soon be transferred under the Authority’s responsibility becoming part of the grass cutting programme.

·         It was commented that the report had not included the visual impact of gateways into towns which had been a significant item in previous years.  The Highways and Transportation Manager agreed that gateways into towns were a key feature and that recommendations 5 of the report would enable the Council greater flexibility with regard to the maintenance of gateway features to work collaboratively with Town and Community Councils to maintain gateway features.  The Director of Environment added that whilst amenity grass cutting had been acknowledged within the report, the provision of such was not within the realm of this task and finish group subject and could be considered as a separate matter in the future.

·         Reference was made to the draft leaflet, which was commended. It was asked if the final leaflet could be provided to Town and Community Councils.  The Head of Highways and Transportation informed the Committee that the leaflet would continue to be developed in consultation with the National Farmers Union (Cymru), Farmers Union of Wales and the Countryside Landowners Association and following endorsement would be distributed widely including Town and Community Councils.

·         In response to a query regarding drainage, the Highways and Transportation Manager explained that it is normally presumed that roadside ditches were owned by and the responsibility of adjacent landowners.  However, if a new highway drains were to be introduced which could have an adverse impact on adjacent land then appropriate consultation would be undertaken in advance of any works being carried out.

·         A query was raised regarding contractor safety and how this was enforced.  The Highways and Transportation Manager stated that all contractors hired by the Authority were obligated to comply with safety guidance set out by the Department for Transport and that anyone undertaking works on the public highway has a duty of care towards other road users.  The Health & Safety Executive has an enforcement role in this respect.  With regard to our grass cutting contractors continuous monitoring was undertaken by our team of Highway Inspectors. In addition, the Director of Environment emphasised that contractors would be inspected and should they be found not in compliance with the safety regulations steps would be taken through the contract to address the issue. 

·         It was suggested that in order to speed up the cutting operation when utilising the enhanced traffic management, a contractor could deploy 2 tractor units. The Highways and Transportation Manager stated the suggestion would be taken into consideration as part of the tender contract review.

The Committee commended the work undertaken by the Task and Finish Group and welcomed the recommendations made.

RESOLVED that the report be received and referred to the Executive Board for its consideration.