Please supply the following information:
- The basic principles which support the inspections and monitoring regime, these may include history, asset make-up, etc. What third party verification exists for the programme of inspections?
- The frequency these inspections are undertaken?
The full Devon County Council policy in relation to inspections and monitoring is set out in the Safety Inspection Manual, which can be viewed online. This includes the details of frequency of inspections which will vary depending upon the category of the highway. The Safety Inspection Manual can be seen at:
https://www.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/maintaining-roads/highways-safety-inspections/
The policy has been verified with reference to trials and legislation. Paragraph 1.2 of the policy sets out the following:
“This policy has been developed following extensive trials and testing and has due regard for the following documents:
- Highways Act 1980
- Well Maintained Highways – Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management (July 2005) updated 18 September 2013
- National Code of Practice (NCoP)
- Highway Risk and Liability Claims – A Practical Guide to Appendix C of the Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management (November 2005)
- Better Together Devon 2014 – 2020″
- The evidence of the inspections, in particular the report, dated, for the last two inspections for James Week Lane in its entirety and 100m in both directions of the roads at the bottom (A377) and the unnamed road at the top.
Documentary records of the last two inspections for the area in the vicinity of James Week Lane is available. With reference to our response above, the roads in this area are categorised at a different priority with reference to the Safety Inspection Manual. The last two inspections of different roads have therefore taken place on different dates. All of these records can be seen via the link below: