Pothole Pandemic

We are all angry about the appalling state of our roads when "Our Council Tax keeps going up." I am angry too. I have done something about it. If more of us understood why this situation has been allowed to develop, then we could begin to understand what we can do about it! County Councils can no longer protect our roads anywhere in the country because consecutive Governments of all parties have irresponsibly imposed punitive budget cuts to the annual grants to all county councils. We don’t have enough money to do the job. Since 2011 the annual grant to DCC has been slashed by 72% in real terms. This gross under-funding has precipitated the deterioration of roads across the country. HM Government did this because of the austerity measures that were needed to address a global economic meltdown. Our Government wanted to shift the financial responsibility from national government to County Councils. They did not want to increase income tax to pay for this because it would lose votes and they would be blamed for fuelling the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, County Councils are in the firing line. Our Governments have wilfully proceeded with this policy in the full knowledge that the legally permitted increases in Council Tax (4.99% /yr) are barely able to compensate for inflation, let alone the loss of revenue needed to maintain our roads. Misunderstanding by the electorate of why our roads have deteriorated, despite increasing council tax, must be urgently addressed if partnerships are to be built and trust restored. Devon is disproportionally affected because we have the largest road network (8,000 miles) and we are the second wettest county in the country. Water on the roads is what causes potholes. The rural nature of our countryside means that unusually, 87% of our roads are in the minor category - C and Unclassified roads. The remoteness of some roads increases the cost of servicing them. And yet - HM Government has, without consultation, withdrawn the Rural Services Delivery Grant. This affects the delivery of all services. DCC has lost £10 million per year from this cut. The ‘extra’ £80 million provided to DCC in 2025, does little to redress the dire financial situation when our backlog of road repairs is increasing by about £15 million per year due to years of underfunding. If DCC cannot balance its books every year, we will be subject to ‘Special Measures’ by HM Government which means they have powers to asset strip, without negotiation, to pay off our debts. There is nothing more that DCC can cut. Now we must work together to rebuild our roads.

Report it!

Devon County Council can repair potholes and clear gullies that meet the strict "Defect criteria". Check the DCC Report it website and report problems that meet the DCC criteria. Other 'Non-Defect' problems can be reported to your Road Warden via the parish council if they have registered with the DCC Road Warden Scheme. Clerks, councillors and members of the public can report a wide range of defects on the Highways which need repair. Instructions on the DCC website explain what criteria the problem has to meet to be classified as a ‘Defect’ which will allow DCC to prioritise the repair. It is important to report defect potholes and blocked gullies. All reports are triaged online and a DCC Inspector will make a site visit to confirm that it is a ‘Defect’ so that a job card can be issued to the correct team and the timetable agreed based on a risk assessment. Inspection costs money and takes time. Please do not report a pothole that does not meet the strict Defect criteria. Instead, bring Non-Defect potholes to the attention of your Road Warden at your Parish Council meeting. All Reports will receive an automated reply with a reference number, which should be used in all correspondence about the same incidence. Remember, you may need to report the same pothole again if the repair is not permanent and has washed out during the winter months (see menu for ‘Stitch in Time’). This is not about ‘quality’ of repair. It is about the technical limitations of the materials that can be used during wet weather. POTHOLE REPORTS If the report is about a pothole, there is an interactive map to show whether this pothole has already been reported. You are asked not to report it again if it has already been reported - but you can add your name to the same Report It submission. A claim for damages to vehicles after hitting a pothole can only be accepted IF the pothole has already been ‘Reported’. If the Pothole is fixed and then becomes a defect again - report it again. This will allow the DCC Officers to identify any Highways Teams which may not be providing a quality service. When it is reported again, as a poor repair, the Report is escalated to a senior officer who will investigate the issue.

Road Warden Scheme

We are where we are. We must get on with fixing all potholes that DCC can no longer fix and do not have a statutory responsibility to do so. Parish councils can fill this gap by registering with the Devon County Council Road Warden Scheme and appointing a volunteer Road Warden and team of volunteers. A Road Warden is a local volunteer coordinator appointed by parish and town councils. The scheme began in 2017 due to the reduced Highways budgets. It empowers local volunteers to fix potholes, on ‘C’ and Unclassified roads, that do not yet meet the ‘Defect criteria’ which DCC has regrettably been forced to impose due to the devastating cuts to the annual Government grant to county councils across the country. The council provides training (such as Chapter 8 traffic management) and cold-lay bitumen whilst volunteers from local communities carry out the work. Chapter 8 training provides essential instruction on temporary traffic management, safety, as well as, signing, lighting, and guarding on UK highways. Based on the Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 8, it ensures operatives, supervisors, and planners can safely set up road works to protect both workers and the public DCC introduced the Highway Maintenance Community Enhancement Fund (HMCEF) to provide grants to assist parishes with the costs of equipment needed to repairs these potholes. How the Road Warden Scheme works The Road Warden does not necessarily physically carry out the works in their community, although they can do so if they wish to and have undertaken the necessary training. The Road Warden is responsible for coordinating the works that take place. It is useful if the Road Warden is a parish councillor because this assists their contribution to the Parish Priority Lists and subsequent site visits organised by their Neighbourhood Highways Officer The Road Warden will agree works with their Neighbourhood Highway Officer, ensure that a risk assessment of any works is carried out and that DCC’s method statements are followed. A Road Warden can manage a team of volunteers who carry out the works. The training and qualification requirements depend on the work that is planned. For example, if potholes are being repaired on the live carriageway at least one volunteer must hold City & Guilds Chapter 8 training. Chapter 8 training teaches how to place signs to create a safe environment for workers and highway users. The course is run over two days and the resulting qualification is Q1 Signing, Lighting and Guarding of the Street Works Qualification Register (SWQR). DCC will provide free Chapter 8 training for up to 3 members of an organisation. Chapter 8 makes volunteers safety savvy - it does not teach them how to fix potholes. In Salcombe Division our Road Wardens collaborate to share good practice from more experienced Road Wardens who have now made permanent repairs to about one thousand non-defect potholes on minor roads. What else can Road Warden volunteers do? Pothole repairs (when they do not meet DCC intervention criteria). Clearing weeds. Cleaning signs. Cleaning drainage (gully grating). Cutting grass Repairing finger posts. Managing verges for wildlife All works must be discussed, in the first instance, with the local Neighbourhood Highways Officer. Road Wardens would not be responsible for carrying out safety repairs for Defect potholes, as this remains the responsibility of the Devon County Council. A Road Warden should: Be nominated as suitable by the town or parish council Be the communication link between DCC and the parish council

Birth of a Pothole

Water erodes road surfaces whether they are protected by tarmac or not. Devon is the second wettest county in the country and climate change is not on our side - so we don't stand a chance unless we all work together to sort this out. The constant cycles of wet/freeze/thaw expand small cracks in the tarmac surface of roads. Water penetrates the cracks and fills any spaces within the road structure. As traffic passes over these water-filled cracks, the water pressure builds, expanding the damaged zone into a circular cavern that eventually collapses - forming a pothole. Keeping our buddle-holes, gullies and grips flowing freely keeps water off the road and prevents new potholes forming or small potholes getting larger.

Prevention is better than cure

Potholes can be prevented if we keep water off the roads by maintaining the road drainage systems that protect our roads. Devon has 180,000 gullies so it's a massive job to keep an eye on all of them and keep them clear. We have the longest road network of 8,000 miles of predominantly minor roads. Its a huge job. We need to work together on this. Road Wardens can play a key role in this endeavour. Keeping our buddle-holes, gullies and grips flowing freely keeps water off the road and prevents new potholes forming or small potholes getting larger. Keeping the water off the road is key to slowing down the deterioration of the road surface. Climate change is increasing the incidence of winter storms and rainfall deluge. Our drainage network aims to divert normal rainfall off our highways and into our river system via a series of gullies (drains in the roads), buddle-holes (gaps in hedges from the road into neighbouring fields) and grips (trenches at an angle to the road which directs water into the verge). Maintenance of drainage network Prior to 2011, all these assets used to be cleared manually by local DCC Parish Lengthsmen using a shovel. Regular low-level maintenance kept the drainage system in preparedness for winter rains. The frequency of maintenance visits by a DCC Parish Lengthsman is now reduced to about two days per year per parish. This is a result of the ‘centralisation’ of Highways services (2011) in response to Austerity measures demanded of County Councils by HM Government. Because of infrequent maintenance visits, it may also now require more expensive intervention using a ‘gully sucker’ to unblock the gulley. Some parish councils are now funding their own Parish Lengthsman from the parish precept and some are sharing the cost with neighbouring parishes. Gullies Devon has approximately 180,000 gullies. Our drainage features are cleaned as part of a cyclic programme. A DCC interactive map shows when a drain was last inspected and how often a specific drain is cleaned as part of a cyclical programme - either once a year or once every three years. https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem/map/map_src/kaarb/ If flooding of properties occurs, it may be possible for the Neighbourhood Highways Officer to apply to have the frequency of the gully clearing to be enhanced. Buddle-holes Gaps in the hedges along roadsides have been made, where standing water is anticipated collect. These ‘buddle-holes’ take water off the road and allow it to drain into the fields on the other side. It is DCC’s responsibility to keep the drain clear from the road to the hedge. It is the landowner’s legal responsibility to keep the drain clear on the landward side of the buddle-hole. DCC Highways do not enter private land to assist with this but have powers to do so if required. Grips Grips usually take water from a sloping road onto a verge. They are cleared on a DCC rota system and are often cleared by Parish Lengthsmen or Road Wardens with a shovel.

Stitch in time

More potholes are reported during the winter because we are not able to keep the vast winter storm waters off our roads. More water on the roads - more potholes. During the summer, cold-lay bitumen materials will permanently fix potholes because the road surface is dry enough to also use the specialist emulsion that fixes and seals the cold tar into the pothole. This is a 'proper job!" However, potholes that have to be fixed over the wet, wet, wet winters cannot always use the emulsion because it is highly toxic to aquatic life. It is prohibited from use during persistent rain or in very wet roads where there is a risk of run-off and pollution of waterways. These potholes will inevitability need to be re-filled if there is persistent rainfall after the repair is made and the drainage system fails to take water off the road. Devon County Council is nonetheless legally obliged to fill these potholes in the winter irrespective of the likelihood of longevity of the repair. Road Wardens can use the same cold-lay tarmac WITH the emulsion during weather windows conducive to permanent repairs, because they live locally and can react quickly. DCC provides the cold-lay materials and the Chapter 8 training to facilitate this. DCC can also offer grants to help parish councils cover the cost of equipment - see Highway Community Enhancement Fund. Road Wardens and Parish Lengthsmen (the latter paid for by parish councils) play a vital role in keeping water of the road and repairing non-defect potholes during good weather thus preventing the formation of ‘defect’ potholes. If we can fix the 'Non-defect potholes' during the spring and the summer when we CAN use the emulsion to create a permanent repair- then we may have fewer Defcet potholes developing in the wet winter months.

How to fix a pothole

Road Wardens can choose to fix the 'Non-defect potholes" when there is a dry spell and it is possible to make it a permanent repair. They will be using the same materials that the Highways emergency pothole repair team . But they have the luxury of working when they can use the special emulsion needed to stick the tarmc into the pothole - so it does not wash out! Here is a guide to it all.. Wear appropriate PPE (gloves, goggles) Brush out the debris inside the pothole and remove any crumbling edge to the pothole. If the road structure around the pothole is in good condition cut straight edges to the hole and patch the square-edged hole. If the road structure around the hole is also in bad condition, fill the shape of the circular pothole. Brush emulsion into the pothole (0.3-0.6 L/m²) including the vertical edges. Use fresh cold-lay material which is not solid (ie past is use by date) and flows freely from the tub. Distribute the cold-lay evenly across the full pothole. Over-fill the pothole with cold-lay to have 2 inches standing proud of the road surface. Firmly pat the cold -lay into the pothole with a shovel. Use a mechanised compactor to firm the cold-lay into position. Brush the surface of the pothole with emulsion, paying particular attention to the perimeter of the pothole. The repaired pothole can be driven over very shortly after the repair is made.

Highways Handbook for Parish Councils

Coming Soon! I will be publishing a guide for parish and town councils wanting to partner with Devon County Council to co-fund priority roadworks for their communities. This guide also explains the roles & responsibilities, accountability and finances of relevance to all the partners. It gives readers an overview of all the technical, legal and financial issues to help us understand where we are now and explains how we can move forward.