Please provide the following information regarding the maintenance and inspection of the following section of highway:
A3121 Easterly from the roundabout where it leaves the A379 to the junctions to Ermington.
Please provide the following information for the 6-month period leading up to and including February 15, 2026:
1) Inspection Logs: Copies of all safety inspections (walked or driven) carried out on this stretch of road. Please include the date, method of inspection, and any defects recorded.
Please see page 1 and 2 of this Defects Report for details of inspections and defects recorded.
Some of the information in the report has been redacted in grey. This information is exempt from disclosure under Regulation 13(1) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (Personal Data).
The Council cannot disclose personal information, if releasing it would contravene any of the provisions in the UK General Data Protection Regulation. In this instance release of this information would contravene the first data protection principle and therefore the information is withheld.
2) Reported Defects: A list of all complaints or reports made by members of the public or other parties regarding potholes or road surface defects at this location.
Under the Environmental Information Regulations, public authorities may refuse requests that are manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b), including where responding would impose an unreasonable burden on resources.
We do not record complaints against specific roads. Complaints are instead logged according to the service area or team responsible for the issue raised. To identify any complaints that may relate to the road you have named, officers would need to manually review all highways‑related complaints received during the last six months.
There are approximately 500 complaints in that period. Even using a conservative estimate of around five minutes to review each complaint, this equates to more than 41 hours of officer time to locate and retrieve the information. This demonstrates that the level of manual searching required would place an unreasonable burden on the Council and divert resources from core statutory functions. On this basis, we consider this part of your request to be manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b).
This response therefore constitutes a Refusal Notice under the Environmental Information Regulations.
Under Regulation 9, we have a duty to provide advice and assistance to help you refine your request. However, due to the way the data is recorded and held, this is not possible for this request.
Please see the Enquiries Report for details of reports made by the public for the location and period you have requested.
Some of the information in the report has been redacted in grey. This information is exempt from disclosure under Regulation 13(1) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (Personal Data).
The Council cannot disclose personal information, if releasing it would contravene any of the provisions in the UK General Data Protection Regulation. In this instance release of this information would contravene the first data protection principle and therefore the information is withheld.
3) Repair History: Details of any repairs planned or executed at this location, including the “Category” assigned to the defect and the intended response time (e.g., 24 hours, 7 days, 28 days).
For reactive repairs undertaken please see the Defects Report provided in response to question 1.
A scheme for patching, short sections of resurfacing and joint seal along the A3121 starting just east of Town Hill, Ermington heading east to the roundabout at Kitterford Cross is planned for design and delivery in 2026/27 subject to available funding and assessment against countywide priorities.
4) Maintenance Policy: A copy of the council’s current Highway Maintenance Policy, specifically the sections defining “actionable” defect dimensions and repair timescales for A-class roads.
Devon County Council’s Highway Safety Policy is published on our website.