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Highway service standards

County surfacing and structural maintenance policy (pdf, 442kb)

Farming and the public highway (pdf 5.4mb)

'A' boards and display of goods on the pavement (pdf, 193kb)

Guide to highway policy details and service levels (pdf, 903Kb)

Highway maintenance safety inspections manual (pdf, 115Kb)


Roads and pavements

Service Standard
Inspections A Roads - 6 weeks
B Roads - 12 weeks
C Roads - 24 weeks
D Roads - 48 weeks
Defect repairs Cat 1 e.g.100mm deep pothole - make safe/repair within 24 hours.
Cat 2 e.g. 50 to 100mm deep pothole - repair within 28 days.

Drainage and flooding

Service Standard
Gully emptying Minimum once every 2 years.

Landscape and trees

Service Standard
Grass cutting WCC Rural Areas - 1m swathe 3 times per year.
District & Borough Urban Areas - 1m swathe 6 times per year.
Weeds Annual spraying programme on kerbed carriageway channels. Annual ragwort treatment programme.
Siding As necessary to provide safe passage to road users.
Hedges WCC - As necessary to provide safe passage to road users.
Private - Owner’s responsibility. Enforcement as appropriate.
Trees Inspection of WCC Trees - Inspected on 3 year cycle by WCC or district council.
Private trees - Owner’s responsibility. Enforcement as appropriate.
Fences Safety barriers maintained to national specification.

Guidelines for pruning council owned trees (pdf, 44Kb)

Maintenance of highway trees by third parties (pdf, 48Kb)

Signs and lines

Service Standard
Road signs Replacement & cleansing as necessary within budget constraints.
Road markings Replacement as necessary within budget constraints.

Street lighting

Service Standard
Operation A minimum of 98.5% of all lights operating at any one time.
Repairs Emergency damage - make safe within 1 hour. Replace column within 1 month.
Routine fault - repair within 5 working days.
Cable fault - repair within 2-4 weeks.
Cleaning and changing lamps - 4 year cycle.

Legal and illegal obstructions

Service Standard
Obstructions Obstructions presenting a hazard to highway users will be removed.
Trees and shrubs Trees may be planted in the highway subject to conditional approval.
Floral tributes and memorials Floral tributes may remain for up to 30 days. Permanent memorials will not be permitted.
Signs Signs presenting a hazard to highway users will be removed. Advertising signs will not be permitted.
Skips, scaffolds and hoardings Permitted subject to conditions.
Vehicle accesses Permitted subject to conditions and planning consent where required.
Fly posting and tipping Anything presenting a hazard to highway users will be removed.

Public contact

Service Standard
Letters Reply within 5 working days.
Telephone calls Answer within 7 rings.
Emails Reply within 5 working day.

Winter service

Service Standard
Precautionary gritting The following roads will be gritted when frost is forecast:
  • All A & B class roads.
  • Roads serving hospitals and main industrial estates.
  • A single route to each village.
Footway gritting Footways may be gritted during periods of prolonged frosty weather.
Snow Resources will be targeted to restore the network as quickly as possible.
Salt bins Bins provided by Parish Councils will be refilled as resources permit.

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