1.Copies of all policies related to the role of Devon Highways in its role as a planning consultee. These should clearly state the constraints and freedoms with which it can raise concerns
We have interpreted this to mean Devon County Council’s Highways service, and not Devon Highways, a private company.
National Planning Policy Framework
Town and Country Planning Permitted Development Order 2015
The link below is included to illustrate that Devon County Council works closely with planning authorities, in this case, East Devon District Council.
East Devon District Council Local Plan
2. all procedures and processes related to its role as a consultee – what actions it should undertake and in what order to act as an effective consultee
Please refer to the response to the previous question.
3. any policies and procedures which are followed by which Devon Highways ensures it is current in its information about problems / pinchpoints / local concerns prior to offering its opinion as a planning consultee
We consult the local Devon County Council member for sites above 9 dwellings, carry out a site visit and interpret documentation submitted as part of the planning application
4. current governance of the highways department in relation to its role as consultee – who’s in charge, who oversees, who has responsibility for what, including contact details
The relevant managers are published below:
Highways Development Management
Devon County Council employees can be contacted using the following :
Email = firstname.lastname@devon.gov.uk
Telephone = 01392 383000 – ask for by name
Specifically my area of concern is Withycombe Village, Exmouth – comprising all areas of the Moorfield Road Estate (including Moorfield Close, Green Close, Marpool Crescent, Nursery Close and Colleton Way) plus Withycombe Village Road and Bradham Lane. These comprise the roads most affected by traffic flows related to Marpool and Withycombe Primary Schools and Exmouth Community College. In relation to any of this area please provide me with records covering the 10 year period to date of :
5. all complaints and concerns raised about traffic flow, verge damage and road conditions in the last 10 years
We only hold one formal complaint to our Customer Relations team about highways in the area requested in the last ten years, the subject matter was road resurfacing in Withycombe Village.
We do hold the following inspection and defect reports for the area, information greyed out has been redacted as it identifies third parties and which therefore may breach their rights under Data Protection legislation, meaning the information is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Section 40 (2) Personal Data.
6.all work undertaken by you, or on your behalf, which assesses the ability of these roads to cope with traffic and peak traffic flows
We do not have any traffic data collected over the last 10 years in the area specified. The Exmouth traffic model was created in 2011 and developed to aid the initial development of the Dinan Way scheme. This model does include Withycombe Village, Moorfield Road and Bradham Lane within it but no checking of the model flows to observed data was carried out in this area because it was not required for the Dinan Way scheme. The other roads mentioned are not included within the model.
7. all work undertaken by you, or on your behalf which assesses the potential additional capacity of these roads to cope with new development
This is carried out for individual applications by the developers as part of their Transport Assessment.
8. all site visits by Highways officers (or those commissioned by you) to this area, their timings and the observations /conclusions of the officers.
Individual site visits are not specifically documented. The findings of site visits inform the formal response to individual applications.
9. outlines and costs of all investment projects to maintain and improve roads in this area.
• Withycombe Village Road 2011-12 resurfacing scheme – work completed but cost information not held
• Bradham Lane 2015-16 drainage scheme , work completed at total cost of £3690.22
• Withycombe Village Road 2019-20 micro-asphalt treatment scheme, total cost £16,477.80
• Moorfield Road Pothole Action Fund 2017-18, deferred to 2019/20, resurfacing instructed cost £18,951.61