At the 18th July 2019 East Devon Highways and Traffic Order Committee (HATOC) Committee meeting the request for double white lines up the entire length of Four Elms Hill was discussed owing to weekly accidents on the hill, and as far as I understand, was approved.
The police made it clear at that meeting that broken white lines with intermittent passing places were undesirable as leaving judgement to individual drivers as to when it is safe to overtake does not work, hence the weekly accidents on the hill.
Cllr Chris Burhop, Chairman of the Parish Council attended that meeting and made the case for solid white lines up the length of the hill in addition to the speed limit that was also agreed.
It was made clear that double white lines were easily understood, were on the whole obeyed by all drivers, and would be in line with Goosemoor Hill at the western end of Newton Poppleford which has a long run of well maintained double white lines up the entire length of the hill and which has far fewer accidents than Four Elms Hill.
I have driven Four Elms Hill today and taken video footage. I believe the work done on the hill now is counter to what was agreed at East Devon HATOC, has increased the danger on the hill by the mass of confusing changes in signage and arrows and is a waste of time and money.
1. ALL emails concerned from managers to Jacobs, including those to and from Cllr Stuart Hughes and Meg Booth, Head of Highways.
Please see linked emails. Pursuant to Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 personal information has been removed from these emails as exempt under the Act.
2. All reports done leading to the decision to do the works carried out this week 05th July 2021.
All reports were included within the Highways and Traffic Order Committee (HATOC) meetings, which can be found online at:
East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee on Thursday, 30th November 2017
East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee on Tuesday, 12th March 2019
East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee on Thursday, 18th July 2019
3. All other correspondence from any parties which refer to this work.
Please see linked emails. Pursuant to Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 personal information has been removed from these emails as exempt under the Act.
4. Evidence on how the decision NOT to double white line the entire length of the hill was consulted upon and all the responses received.
This information is not held. The outcome of the HATOC meeting on the 30th November 2017 was to investigate the placement of double white lines (applying the ”procedure set out in Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual”), the report dated 18th July 2019 detailed the outcome of that investigation (See Appendix II).
5. Evidence of how this piecemeal work fits in with the ‘Doing What Matters’
This information is not held.