Highways teams focus on flood clean-up

Devon County Council is re-deploying all of its highways teams into the clean-up operation in the wake of recent storms.

Having sustained ongoing torrential downpours in the past few weeks, the Council has received nearly 7,000 reports of flooded roads, potholes and fallen trees since 20 December.

The authority is still assessing the full extent of the recent storm damage to Devon’s highway network and a number of sea walls. It is now redirecting all of its highways teams into the clean-up in order to inspect and restore the local salting network to the best possible state before the onset of forecast colder temperatures later this month.

The emergency response will enable Devon Highways to target repairs to potholes and safety defects as well as urgent drainage clearance. However, in order to do so, all planned pre-surface dressing patching, routine gully clearance, routine drainage inspections and routine work by lengthsmen is being suspended so that these teams can support the effort.

Where possible, priority drainage schemes will continue to be implemented. Parish and Town Councils are being informed of the changes to the work programme and will be updated when parish lengthsman work resumes.

Although the recent damage is not thought to be anywhere near as bad as the £18 million damage by the major flood events in 2012/13, it has put the County Council at full stretch.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management and Flood Prevention, said: “It makes sense to adopt this strategy as an urgent response to the amount of damage that has been caused to Devon’s roads. The priority is to try and resolve as many of the safety and emergency issues on the roads which carry the bulk of the traffic in the county and provide key routes into communities.

“Our highway network has again taken a battering from the volume of rainfall in recent weeks so we need to focus on repairing the damage and clearing problem drains and gullies. We can expect issues with water run-off for some time, which will cause problems if we have a freeze. Therefore we need to make sure our salting network is in the best possible condition before we see the return of night-time frosts which are forecast for the second half of the month.

“These latest storms have again highlighted the shortcomings of the Bellwin funding system, which will mean we’ll be left with another hefty repair bill. We may not reach the required £1.7 million threshold and even if we did, only temporary repairs and clean-up carried out within the required timescale would qualify for Government support.

“Our teams have been well prepared during these recent storms, and the robust arrangements we have in place has helped provide a consistent response. However, the budget pressures we’re facing will limit our capacity to address reported problems and improve our highway drainage network, and this needs to be discussed with Government. We still haven’t recovered from last year’s storms, and we'll be dealing with the legacy for the next four years, in terms of the ongoing repairs.

“We were fortunate to receive £3.023 million of Bellwin funding from the Government last year, but that had a limited impact when we had suffered £18 million of damage. The Winter Damage Grant we received from Government in 2010 and 2011 after consecutive severe winters had a much more positive effect in tackling the deterioration of the network and it would be helpful if there was a similar response from Government in the light of the current conditions and last winter.”

Devon County Council's Cabinet also today thanked everyone involved in responding to the storms over the past few weeks.

Devon County Council Leader John Hart said: "I would like to pay tribute to all the people who have been protecting the public of Devon in all weathers and at all times of the day and night. That includes the blue light services, our own highways staff, the Highways Agency, the Environment Agency and all the volunteer groups. Our local members have also worked with their communities and we should express our grateful thanks to them all."

Devon is braced for more heavy rain this afternoon and overnight, with temperatures forecast to drop tomorrow.

Devon’s 8,000 mile highway network, the biggest of any authority in the country, needs £62 million a year of investment to maintain its current condition. The budget for the current financial year stands at £39 million, with just over £2million committed to legacy repairs this financial year.