Using pedal power to save East Riding council tax payers money

 

My East Riding of Yorkshire Council ward of Howdenshire, stretching to 15 separate parishes is geographically one of the largest in the county, and it does take a bit of getting around. Many will know that over recent months I have been on a ‘journey of enlightenment’ travelling over 2,300 miles on my trusty steed (pictured). Most of which has been over bridleways, tracks and trails, only using the roads to join them up.

These past two months I have taken this one step further and ditched the car and truck as much as possible for council business and pedalled around the area to Parish Councils, School Governor meetings, wind farm meetings, and appointments with residents, admittedly sometimes arriving a little windswept and dishevelled not to mention unconventionally dressed in a day-glo shirt, tracksuit pants and trainers (although I’ve always changed into a clean shirt in order maintain a little elegance!) however, it has certainly provoked many interesting comments, many of them referring to the state of roads and bridleways, potholes, & puddles, which of course I now see at close quarters!

Obviously all this means I’m fitter and healthier, but additionally I have not claimed the same mileage as when using the car – This has resulted in my last month’s travel expenses plummeting to the lowest ever for a normal month – which is a saving to the East Riding Council tax payer.

Please don’t worry, fear not, I’m not turning into some sort of eco warrior and will not be changing my views on so called ‘green’ issues – I’m just enjoying being fitter and inadvertently saving the East Riding taxpayers money in the process.

A certain Mr Norman Tebbit said something about 'getting on your bike' back in '81 - I'm not sure this is what he meant though!

 

Holme on Spalding Moor Road improvements to start soon

Sections of HOSM's Selby Road and High Street between the mini roundabout at the junction to the A614 and Major Bridge are due to be repaired and resurfaced as part a programme to improve roads within the East Riding of Yorkshire. This in addition to the recent repair and surface dressing work due to be completed by the Councils’ direct works department.

The work is programmed to commence on Monday 13th June 2011 and is expected to take 2 weeks to complete (weather permitting). Should there be delays due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the scheme may extend beyond the expected completion date. The sections to be repaired are from the mini roundabout to Runner End, from Sands Lane/Station Lane to Water End farm (just beyond Bulmer Lane) and approximately 200 meters either side of Major Bridge.

Unfortunately, due to the narrow width to sections of the carriageway and to undertake the work safely, it will be necessary to close the road to through traffic during working hours. The road will be closed at 9.15am until 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 8.00am until 8.00pm Saturday and Sunday. Temporary traffic lights may be in operation outside of these times with the road open to traffic. When the surfacing is undertaken at Major Bridge, it will be necessary to close the road to all through traffic for one day due to the narrow section on a bend. This is programmed to take place on Sunday 26th June 2011. Please note that on this day the 0900 from Holme on Spalding Moor to York and the 1710 from York to Holme on Spalding Moor will operate as normal. All other buses on service 18A will start and finish at Foggathorpe Heavy goods vehicles will be diverted at Bubwith using the B1228 and A614 via Howden. Light vehicles will be diverted via Runner End and Back Lane where a 7.5 tonne weight limit exists.

Access will be maintained for shop deliveries, emergency services, refuse collection, mobile library, mobile optician and postal services. The existing bus services, including school buses, will be allowed through the works and operate as normal. Residents living within the work areas will be able to access their properties from Runner end or the A614, dependent on the location of the surfacing operation but are requested to avoid attempting to travel through the works. The contractor will be able to advise residents regarding access on a daily basis (contact details below).

Galliford Try Highway Maintenance Ltd has been contracted to undertake the work on behalf of East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Should you have any questions or require further information please contact the project Engineer Jeff Taylor on 01482 395504 or the above mobile number. (Email: - jeffrey.taylor@eastriding.gov.uk). During his absence you may wish to contact James Sissons (Project Manager) on 01482 395644. To discuss access or work related matters, you may wish to contact the contractor’s representative, Chris Moody (mobile: 07885 135439) or Kev Thompson (mobile: 07888 027192).

Major Roadworks begin on Holme On Spalding Moor's High Street and Selby Road

Holme On Spalding Moor (HOSM) residents will have noticed that the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has begun repair work on A163 Selby Road, with some of the most damaged sections being excavated and patched, and some sections of dropped kerb entrances replaced.

(pictured with the Council staff carrying out the preparation work at Rowan Court/Selby Road junction)


This work is in preparation for surface dressing to be commenced in the middle of June, with the work held back and programmed to avoid clashing with the major repairs to Boothferry Bridge - as the A163 is one of the diversion routes.

Also in mid June we will see the major works required to High Street which will involve some rebuilding of the road, including removing and replacing the top 160mm (6”) in places.

The first part of the HOSM programme is the considerable works involved in the resurfacing of the A614 Rush Corner, which is due to commence on 4th June 2011.

During all the works there will be temporary road closures through the narrow sections for safety reasons, and the ERYC will organise these closures to commence at 9.15am until 3.15pm in order to minimise disruption to commuter traffic. Local diversions will be put in place for local traffic and light vehicles.

First the flooding then two severe winters, there is little wonder that some of the roads, not just in and around HOSM, but throughout the East Riding are breaking up, and this is compounded by the fact that the roads were never designed for today's HGVs.

Clearly this is not a matter of filling in potholes, some sections of roads in the East Riding are so damaged they will have to be rebuilt as we will see in HOSM's High Street, and some £20million will be spent on road repairs throughout the county over the next twelve months.

The cost of highway maintenance is funded through road tax, however the amount the last Government paid back to local authorities was much less than they took in taxation and not sufficient to maintain the roads.”

“To repair and rebuild our damaged roads will take time, but East Riding of Yorkshire Conservative Councillors have made a pledge that we as a Council will undertake this work”.

Long Awaited Flood Prevention Works on Gilberdyke’s Sandholme Road Junction

It is great to see the East Riding of Yorkshire Council have commenced the work on the road drains at the junction of Gilberdyke’s Sandholme Road and the Main Road. This is to address the frequent pooling of water on the road during times of rainfall and the flood risk to the corner cottage. Both the Parish Council and myself have raised this frequently, and despite some work being done previously the problem was never really solved.

To offer a permanent solution a new channel drain is to be fitted along both sides of the road.

The west side channelling (to be installed in trench shown) is to be connected to what is the original Gilbert’s dyke which, is now culverted and running under the footpath .

The channel drain on the east is to discharge into the drain running under the main road, running into open dyke outside the Wards Hotel, which then continues as a piped section to join with the main village drainage near the Memorial Hall carpark. This section will hopefully receive some maintenance in the future.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council Will Repair The Damaged Roads

First the flooding then the severe winter, there is little wonder that some of our roads, that were never designed for today's HGVs, are breaking up.

This is not a matter of filling in potholes, some sections of road are so damaged they will have to be rebuilt.

The cost of highway maintenance is funded through road tax, however the amount the Labour Government pays back to local authorities is much less than they take in taxation and not sufficient to maintain the roads.

The cost to repair and rebuild our damaged roads will be huge, and it will take time, but East Riding of Yorkshire Conservative councillors have made a pledge that we will undertake this work.

We are not waiting for the damage to be reported, the council has a crack team out every day filling potholes as they go around - I think this is very much a common sense, practical short term solution as we can not repair properly until the weather allows, and the full extent to the damage is known.

Expect to see road works accross the East Riding soon as the weather improves.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Salt Bins and Gritting Footways

Salt bins

Due to the severe weather conditions demand for salt from East Riding of Yorkshire (ERYC) bins is far exceeding normal usage. Salt bins located are a secondary measure in the Councils winter maintenance effort and resources have to be targeted at the Councils primary responsibility, which is keeping our principle road network open.

As a result of this the ERYC have moved from a system of responding to requests for refills and now the bins are being systematically refilled. The Council is constantly filling bins with white salt. High demand means salt is being used faster than some bins can be refilled.

Gritting footways

The Council do have a network of footways which are treated during winter weather set out according to how busy they are and which services the footways lead to. There are 16 areas across the East Riding where this work is carried out, and where resources allow the treatment will be broadened out.

For more information about salt bins or the network of roads and footways which are gritted please call the ERYC on (01482) 393939.

A map of gritting routes can also be found at:

http://www.eastriding.gov.uk/gofer/viewer.htm?view=generic&Service=gofer_highways&Layers=110111111&ActiveLayer=0&serviceName=Salting%20Routes&&

What the East Riding of Yorkshire Council is doing to keep the areas roads clear of snow and ice

Background

The Council’s winter service policy is reviewed and approved on a three year cycle. The current policy was approved in July 2007 and is due for review again later this year.

The Council’s policy / duty is to ‘as far as reasonable practicable’ to treat a defined network known as the precautionary network. This network consists of the ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads and the more heavily used linking roads. A criteria exists to determine which roads fall into this precautionary network. The precautionary network consists of some 1,400km of roads around 40% of the network.

In addition to the main priority, a responsive network is treated when conditions indicate that freezing weather will continue beyond lunch time and resources allow. This criteria also applies to the salting of selected footpaths in the town centres.

The responsive network adds a further 700km to the treated network.

The precautionary and responsive networks are published in the East Riding News each November and are available on the Council’s web pages.

Recent weather

Compared to last year the start of this winter season (the winter season runs from October through to April) was very mild.

The first signs of winter weather came on Friday the 18th December and has stayed with us. An extremely unusual occurrence where past experience has shown short periods of snow tailing away within a week.

The weekend of 19th and 20th was particularly bad and a forbearer of things to come. Road surface temperatures have remained at / below freezing throughout the period meaning any contact with snow / sleet / rain has caused ice unless salt has been present. Even where salt has been present on less trafficked roads the masking effect of snow followed by sub-zero temperatures has resulted in freezing snow over the salt. In some places temperatures have been as low as -100c. Over this weekend much of the East Riding was covered with snow in a fairly short period of time covering all road surfaces (including treated ones).

Across the weekend of 19th and 20th repeated treatments were undertaken using some 2,000 tonnes of salt in two days.

The weather is forecast to remain in such wintery conditions through towards the end of January. However it needs to be noted that the longer term forecasts carry less confidence then shorter range forecasts.

Salt stocks

The Council has four salt barns that can collectively hold around 8,000tonnes of salt. These are filled up during the summer months in readiness for the winter season. A framework contract is in place with Cleveland Potash to supply salt to us.

The plan of action is to ensure that for the Christmas close down period that the barns are as near full as possible to see the service through to the resumption of normal services.

At the commencement of 14th December the barns were 90% full with further salt orders in place up to Christmas Eve to replenish any envisaged usage. This plan was severely challenged with the onslaught of the extended period of bad weather commencing on Friday the 18th December and the usage on that date and over the weekend to combat the conditions. The depletion of stocks combined with a forecast showing a continuation of similar conditions required a re-evaluation of the plan and a daily monitoring of usage coupled with attempts to increase the existing orders of salt to ensure the continuity of the service and to meet the Council’s stated Duty.

Salt suppliers are under pressure to meet customer demands which is causing a significant spike in orders and quantities of salt requested by all customers at the same time. This spike is having to be managed by the suppliers by limiting supplies to each customer to ensure that all get something.

Salt stocks continue to be monitored on a daily basis.


Action taken

Winter operations have continued around the clock from 18th December to date. The primary focus has been on the precautionary network and over the period the crews have been out some 35 times. In addition to this responsive salting has been undertaken during the day time, salt bins have been re-filled and town centre footpaths salted by teams from Environmental Services. In excess of 7,000tonnes of salt has been used between Christmas and return to work.

This compares to a more usual operation over the period of less than half this level of activity and a salt usage of typically 2,000tonnes.

Operations are controlled from the main winter operations room at Beverley Depot and this has been manned throughout the period.

As necessary particularly on the higher ground some ploughing has been undertaken to move snow and slush off the carriageway.

With limited exceptions the precautionary network has been kept open to traffic.

Current Situation

Operations continue and look set to continue for at least the next two weeks. A 30 day weather forecast from the Met Office indicates that over the next 2 weeks it will remain very cold with periods of precipitation (taking the form of rain / sleet / snow). For the remainder of the month still cold but slightly improved conditions.

Salt usage is being monitored and supplies secured to ensure the service can continue.

Many complaints are being received. The perception seems to be that the Council hasn’t done anything. Much of this relates to footpaths remaining icy over the duration and the lack of treatment to minor roads which do not form part of the network. Similarly people have complained about empty salt bins. It is pleasing that people have used these facilities and bins have been refilled as notified to us that they were in need of replenishing. However the rate of usage has resulted in some being empty for a period of time.

Financial Position

The high intensity operation has inevitably cost more money than would have been expected under normal circumstances at this point of the season. Payments for continuous operations out of hours, procurement of extra salt supplies, transport costs all come at a price.

The budget will be monitored throughout the season and depending on weather conditions up to April the current spike in expenditure may be evened out.