Community Highways Volunteering. Information Pack 2017/18

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1 Community Highways Volunteering Information Pack 2017/18 Chief Executive Gillian Beasley

2 Contents Welcome to the Community Highways Volunteering Scheme... 2 How the scheme works... 3 Who can register to become a volunteer?... 3 What can the community help with?... 3 Recording the work of each Parish... 4 Reporting highway faults to us that are not covered in this scheme... 4 Siding out... 5 Vegetation cutting back... 6 Sign cleaning... 7 Litter Picking... 8 Health and Safety... 9 Working around the highway... 9 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)... 9 Manual Handling... 9 Slips and Trips... 9 Lone working... 9 Liability and Insurance Incidents or injuries to volunteers Notification of incidents Community Highways Volunteer Log Sheet Community Highways Volunteering Registration form 2017/

3 Welcome to the Community Highways Volunteering Scheme The County Council s Community Highways Volunteering Scheme allows communities to step in and work on the highways in your area, helping the County Council to maintain Cambridgeshire s highways to a high standard. The scheme gives volunteers in the community the opportunity to enhance their environment whilst at the same time reducing pressure on county council budgets. With this scheme the County Council are creating the conditions whereby Parishes, Towns and Community Groups can undertake certain routine maintenance activities. The scheme essentially gives Parishes in Cambridgeshire the opportunity to carry out works that would otherwise be a low priority for the County Council. This information pack contains all the information Parishes need to become part of the Community Highways Volunteering Scheme. In order to complete their registration, the form at the end of this pack needs to be signed and returned to the County Council. If you are unsure about any element of this scheme, have any questions or would like more information, please contact local.highways@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or speak to your Local Highway Officer. 2

4 How the scheme works Who can register to become a volunteer? Anyone in the community can become a volunteer to help improve their area s highway. The more, the better! Your Local Highway Officer will have more information on the scheme if needed. To register their interest, each Parish will need to fill in the registration form at the end of this pack. This then needs to be sent to Cambridgeshire County Council and we advise that you copy in your County Councillor for their information. What can the community help with? Each Parish is responsible for deciding what work they d like to be done in their community. However, all work as part of this scheme must be carried out within the limits of the village or town. At no time should volunteers work near high speed roads; they should only work within 20, 30 and 40mph limits. An initial consultation with the Local Highway Officer will be required with each Parish representative prior to any work commencing to ensure all Health & Safety information is fully understood. This scheme only applies to footways, footpaths and bridleways. Volunteers on this scheme are not insured or trained to work on the roads and should never place themselves in conflict with live traffic. Volunteers should not put themselves at any further risk from motor vehicles than they would as an untrained pedestrian. The four areas where the Council would like your help are: Siding out Vegetation cutting back Sign cleaning Litter picking Further details on each area are below. 3

5 Recording the work of each Parish It is very important that all volunteers keep a record of when and where they have worked. These records evidence what work has been carried out, where and when for each Parish. The County Council will only require these records if a problem arises. An example form for recording work is provided with this pack, but volunteers can record the information in whichever way is best for them. Reporting highway faults to us that are not covered in this scheme If volunteers spot any additional highway faults which are not covered within this scheme, they can be reported to the County Council by using our simple and easy online reporting tool which can be found here: 4

Siding Out Siding out is the term used to remove grass that has grown

Siding out of overgrown footways is essential to ensure access for all

Footways should be removed of all obstructions and encroaching grass

Where landowners are involved they must be made aware of their

6 Siding Out Siding out is the term used to remove grass that has grown over the footpath from the adjacent verge. Siding out of overgrown footways is essential to ensure access for all pedestrian users is maintained along the footpath. Footways should be removed of all obstructions and encroaching grass should be cut out of footways. Where landowners are involved they must be made aware of their obligations and prompted to clear footways, your Local Highway Officer can help with this. Below are some before and after pictures Example 1: Example 2: Before After Before After 5

Vegetation Cutting Back Where vegetation is overhanging or

visibility of road signs or a potential hazard should be

However, this does not include vegetation that is privately

7 Vegetation Cutting Back Where vegetation is overhanging or obstructing footways this can be cut back or removed to ensure pedestrians can navigate the route. Also cutting back of all highway vegetation to ensure visibility of road signs or a potential hazard should be considered. However, this does not include vegetation that is privately owned, so we ask all volunteers to liaise with the Local Highway Officer first if unsure. Below are some examples of where vegetation needs to be cut back 6

8 Sign Cleaning We ask for any unclean and hard to read signs belonging to Cambridgeshire County Council to be cleaned simply with soapy water. Please only clean signs that are reachable from ground level with a brush, do not use ladders. Examples of signs needing cleaning are below 7

We ask for you to remain on footways and not to step out into the roads.

9 Litter Picking To ensure the towns and villages in your community looks attractive and are kept clean and tidy a simple task such as litter picking can make all the difference. We ask for you to remain on footways and not to step out into the roads. Below are just a few examples of where litter makes the area look dirty and untidy and where a simple task such as litter picking is very much needed 8

10 Health and Safety The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the foundation of British Health and Safety Law. It imposes a duty of care on employees, including volunteers, to take reasonable care of themselves and others while working and to co-operate with their employer to achieve this. The information presented here is given to allow volunteers to work as safely as possible. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact local.highways@cambridgeshire.gov.uk and remember, if it doesn t feel safe, don t do it! Working around the highway This volunteer scheme provides for working on and around footways, footpaths and bridleways, it does not provide for working on the carriageway. Volunteers should not be any closer to moving traffic than they would be as an ordinary pedestrian and they should take extra care when crossing roads. The County Council also does not permit volunteers to work on power signs, due to health and safety implications. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) PPE is equipment or clothing which is intended to protect oneself against risks to their health and safety. The County Council will not be providing PPE for this scheme and does not require volunteers to wear specific PPE, however we do advise volunteers to wear brightly coloured clothing and appropriate footwear. When cutting back vegetation we also ask for volunteers to wear gloves. Manual Handling Manual handling covers any transportation or supporting of a load (including pulling, pushing, carrying and moving) by hand or bodily force. Volunteers have a duty to ensure that they do not place themselves or others at risk by not following proper systems of work while acting as part of the scheme. Slips and Trips The Health and Safety Executive states that slips and trips were the most common cause of accidents in the workplace and account for over a third of all reported injuries lasting over three days. We therefore ask that volunteers take particular care of where they are walking and to remain aware of their surroundings at all time. Lone working Working alone can significantly increase work related risks. In an ideal scenario volunteers should arrange to work with another volunteer. However, as this is not always practical volunteers should carry a mobile phone and inform someone when they are going out to work as part of this scheme. 9

11 Liability and Insurance The County Council will indemnify volunteers in respect of any claims for loss or damage caused as a result of undertaking approved activities at approved locations and holds appropriate insurance cover to protect the interests of the volunteers and the Council itself. This indemnity will not operate in circumstances where any loss or damage was caused as a result of deliberate, unlawful or illegal actions on the part of the volunteer. Incidents or injuries to volunteers The County Council holds a personal accident policy designed to pay compensation for any serious disabling injuries or death suffered as a result of approved voluntary activities undertaken on its behalf. This cover will only operate in circumstances where volunteers are acting fully within the scope of approved activities at approved locations and will not operate in circumstances where volunteers act on their own accord without authority and appropriate training, deliberately or unlawfully. In circumstances where a volunteer is injured as a result of alleged negligence on the part of the Council or its agents/employees the volunteer will be entitled to pursue a claim in negligence against the Council. The Council holds appropriate liability insurance to cover this eventuality. Notification of incidents Any incident, however minor, involving loss, injury or damage to any party must be reported to your Local Highway Officer (LHO) immediately upon notification or discovery. A full report relating to the occurrence will be required and any volunteers involved will be required to co-operate fully with any investigations undertaken by or on behalf of the County Council. 10

12 Community Highways Volunteer Log Sheet Parish: Name of volunteer Work carried out (including location) Date Time out Time back Chief Executive Gillian Beasley

13 Community Highways Volunteering Registration form 2017/18 Thank you for volunteering to help keep your parish highways maintained. Please complete this form and return to Cambridgeshire County Council, Highways Depot, Station Road, Whittlesford CB2 4NL or to register your Parish on the Community Highways Volunteering Scheme. Ward:.. Ward Contact Name :.. address: Phone Number:. Postal address (if no available): By ticking this box I confirm that I have read and understood the Community Highways Volunteering Information Pack provided by Cambridgeshire County Council. The information provided on this form will be used solely for the purposes of administrating the Community Highway Volunteering scheme. Chief Executive Gillian Beasley

COUNCIL POLICY. Document No: CPL260.5 Approval Date: 23 March 2010 Obstruction

COUNCIL POLICY. Document No: CPL260.5 Approval Date: 23 March 2010 Obstruction COUNCIL POLICY Road Reserve and Footpath Document No: CPL260.5 Approval Date: 23 March 2010 Obstruction Approved By: Council Review Date: 31 December 2013 Responsible Officer: Version No: 02 General Manager