AGENDA ITEM NO 6
ENVIRONMENT AND REGENERATION SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
6 APRIL 2006
REPORT FROM CHIEF ENVIRONMENT OFFICER
PROGRESS ON WINTER MAINTENANCE POLICY
PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
To advise Members of progress made towards developing a new Winter Maintenance Policy for Wrexham County Borough Council.
INFORMATION
1. The Need for a New Policy
There is currently no formal policy on Winter Maintenance approved by Council Members. Recent changes in legislation have placed a duty on Highway Authorities to ensure (as far as is reasonably practical) that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice. In order that a consistent approach can be achieved across the County it is necessary to agree how, where and when winter maintenance operations are carried out.
2. Core Aspects of the Winter Maintenance Policy
The Winter Maintenance Policy will set clear standards relating to where, when and how the Council will carry out precautionary gritting, issue salt bins and clear snow. Each section of carriageway and footway has been classified based on location, (geographic and topographic) and usage. The method of delivering winter maintenance operations will vary according to the classification. Extensive research is being carried out with neighbouring Authorities to ensure the most reactive yet cost effective method of service delivery is adopted. It is expected that the proposals submitted to Members for approval will include:-
· Which roads will receive precautionary gritting treatment
· Which footways will receive precautionary gritting treatment
· Which roads will receive priority for clearance in snow conditions
· Which footways will receive priority for clearance in snow conditions
· The location of grit boxes.
3. Corporate and Statutory requirements on Policy Development
The revised Wales Programme for Improvement Guidance for Local Authorities 2005, places clear emphasis on equality and sustainability in improvement planning. The Guidance states that failure to make arrangements, properly supported by the necessary resource provision and capacity building, to ensure equality and sustainability at a strategic level constitutes a strategic risk. It goes on to state that processes for defining, identifying and quantifying needs, and for agreeing strategic and operational plans to meet those needs, must take full account of both diversity within communities and the needs of future generations. In order to meet this requirement, the development of the new Winter Maintenance Policy is incorporating the following stages:-
3.1 Environmental Impact Assessment: Winter Maintenance involves depositing up to 5000 tonnes of salt on highways and verges each year. This has an immediate and on-going impact on land, water and vegetation. An Environmental Impact Assessment will be carried out to identify the potential impact current arrangements and future proposals could have on the environment and to develop recommendations for controlling or reducing such impacts. The Environmental Impact Assessment will include consultations with the Corporate Sustainability Group, representatives from CADW, Environment Agency Wales and Countryside Council for Wales, and representatives from local environmental groups.
3.2 Health Impact Assessment: Health impact assessment (HIA)is a process which supports organisations to assess the potential consequences of their decisions on people’s health and wellbeing. The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to developing its use as a key part of its strategy to improve health and reduce inequalities. HIA works best when it involves people and organisations who can contribute different kinds of relevant knowledge and insight. The information is then used to build in measures to maximise opportunities for health and to minimise any risks. With support from the Welsh Health Impact Assessment Support Unit, a workshop has been held to consider how the Winter Maintenance/Street Inspection Policy affects people’s health and wellbeing (Appendix 1 attached refers). Further work is planned in order to develop the recommendations for improvement which will be included in the final policy proposals.
3.3 Equalities Impact Assessment: In line with Corporate requirements, the new Winter Maintenance Policy will undergo an Equalities Impact Assessment in order to consider how the proposed policy may impact of people as a result of gender, age, disability, ethnicity, sexuality or language preference. This is to ensure that the policy does not discriminate against people in any way and to identify actions which can be taken to remove any potential for discrimination. The work carried out for the HIA will be used to inform the Equalities Impact Assessment, with further consultations carried out where necessary.
4. Time Scale
It is proposed that a final draft Winter Maintenance Policy will be ready for Member approval before the 2007-2008 Winter Maintenance Programme starts.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
None.
WEBSITE INFORMATION
None.
Report Ref: CEnO/05/06S
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APPENDIX 1
Wrexham County Borough Council
Environment Department
Winter Maintenance Policy
Report on a one day
Rapid Health Impact Assessment
1 March 2006
Alyn Waters Country Park
Introduction
A rapid Health Impact Assessment was conducted against draft Wrexham County Borough Council’s existing Winter Maintenance Policy.
The one day assessment aimed to contribute to the revision and final preparation of a new Winter Maintenance Policy by providing an opportunity for key stakeholders to provide practical recommendations on how the Policy could further improve the health of the population.
A list of the attendees is included.
An evaluation was undertaken at the end of the day.
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Stage One
Potential Implications on Health upon Implementation of the Draft Action Plan
This table describes where the group predicted likely direction of change (i.e. positive or negative) in relation to the wider determinants of health with regards to vulnerable groups and the wider population.
Determinant of Health / Positive Health Impacts / Negative Health ImpactsLifestyles
Winter Maintenance general / limit alcohol intake because people cannot access shops and pubs / Walking to health programmes
Active living – decrease
NHS – impact of accidents, workload and stress on services
People who don’t work 9-5 are disproportionately affected as ice is a greater risk in early hours and/or on roads and pathways which are not used greatly
Increase in claims against authority for accidents
Unhealthy living increases (frustration, stress, increase smoking, dab died, no exercise)
Affects people living in isolated areas
Snow clearance / Increase in physical activity – people walk more, children go out to play in the snow
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Determinant of Health / Positive Health Impacts / Negative Health ImpactsSocial and Community influences on health
Winter maintenance general / Can bring people together – increase contact with neighbours, people check on vulnerable neighbours etc / Lack of social contact and increased isolation, especially of vulnerable groups such as elderly people
Social capital – people take control of policy making processes, citizen power as a result of “things going wrong” – eg letters in press and lobbying of Members after an event / Young mothers with toddlers/prams and who do not have cars cannot get about
Family units are forced to be more organised during an event / Increased stress levels in family life
Divisions in community caused by different treatment in different areas – eg public question why one area was gritted or cleared before another
Economic Conditions
Winter Maintenance General / Reduced access can jeopardise businesses
May mean some people cannot get to work – may lose income
Detrimental impact on businesses – eg on Wrexham Industrial Estate if roads close or are difficult to drive on
Failure to salt roads and footways / All new footpaths provide drop kerbs so people can park cars off the road – this allows for more effective salting of roads / Older pavements are more affected by ice
A recognised need to more gritting could result in increased employment opportunities / Vehicles parking on pavements (in areas of older housing) make gritting difficult. Some areas cannot be gritted because gritting vehicles cannot get past cars parked on the road
Salt bins / More vulnerable areas (eg around Elderly Persons Homes) have salt boxes
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Determinant of Health / Positive Health Impacts / Negative Health ImpactsAccess
Winter maintenance general / Possibly people who don’t need to attend a surgery don’t go / Cannot walk to shops – impact on people who are elderly, disabled or those on a low income who need to shop daily
Promotes home working – increase use of electronic working / Unable to hold open markets (eg at Plas Madoc) which operate to give people on low income a source of fresh fruit and veg
Home delivery services can be affected, eg milk
Access to morning only services is impaired eg doctors – possibly results in people becoming more ill
Children walking to school go by car instead, or walk on gritted roads (increased danger from cars) as pathways remain slippery with ice
Children don’t attend school
Ice or snow conditions makes putting out wheelie bins/boxes difficult – lead to more accidents
Increase in injury hazards generally because of falls
Reduce access/use of play areas
stressful for retailers – drop in takings, staff don’t arrive for work
Disruptions to public transport
Salt bins / There are salt bins in some areas which are gritted – why? This is duplication
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In addition, a number of general points were raised where it was felt that either the plan did not address particular issues at all or contained insufficient detail. These are outlined below and where appropriate, addressed within the recommendations section of this report.
1. there is a need to consider coordination with other public services – for example gritting around non-Council areas such as hospital car parks, railway stations, unadopted roads in town centre and beyond.
2. would it be possible to gather data on expenditure to see if there are links between gritting, increased accidents reported to hospitals and increased claims against the local authority for accidents?
3. The Council needs to improve how it communicated with Community Councils and other organisations – many of the people present did not know/understand the Council’s Winter Maintenance policy before today.
4. could the Council charge businesses (eg Tesco) for gritting or clearing snow around their premises
5. there are no shovels in salt bins ….. how are people expected to get the salt out …… are they likely to injure themselves doing it ….. would it be safer not to have any?
Stage Two
Maximising predicted positive health implications and minimising/negating the predicted negative impacts.
The participants felt that further time was needed to carry out the second stage of the Health Impact Assessment and to develop realistic recommendations which could be built into the new Winter Maintenance Policy. A further session will therefore be organised in the coming months.
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Facilitators
Liz Green – Health Impact Assessment Development Officer, Welsh Health Impact Assessment Support Unit.
Gillian Cowan – Health and Well Being Development Strategy Officer
Attendees
Mrs C Edwards George Edwards Coaches
Michael Cantwell Policy Officer, WCBC
Gareth Griffiths Transportation, WCBC
Wendy Sime Maelor South Community Council
John Griffiths Gwersyllt Community Council
Karen Benfield Offa Community Council
Karen Julse Highways, WCBC
Ken Barney Economic Development, WCBC
Alan Hughes North Wales Police
Harry Prankard Wrexham Disability Forum
Sylvia Prankard Wrexham Disability Forum
Sylvia Rickard National Public Health Service
Clive Menzies Local Access Forum
Jean Mead Clwyd Community Health Council
Geoff Pilmoor Legal and Admin, WCBC
Alan Guest Environment Department, WCBC
(Invitations were sent to a wide range of organisations and individuals, including all Community Councils. Apologies for non-attendance were received from many, and these will be invited to meetings to agree recommendations)
Evaluation Results
Expectations/Comments on workshop and rating (1=poor, 10=excellent):
Information was very good on very important subject. I will go back and inform Gwersyllt Community Council. I would like more meetings with Wrexham County Council Departments about all the work the Council carry out (10)
Knowledge of gritting policy (9)
Learn more on how ‘gritting’ affects the population and industry of Wrexham. Could improvements be made to assist the county in its gritting programme (8)
The day was explained very clearly. I thought the sessions could have been more streamlined. Many topics overlapped but the final outcome was satisfactory (8)
Not sure (what to expect) but attending to put the disabled person’s point of view across (8)
A better understanding of the current situation and problems (8)
No expectations. I had no idea what a health impact assessment training workshop would be. I learned more than I expected (8)
To make a contribution to the discussion on the impact that the gritting policy has on the health and wellbeing of the Wrexham community (7)
To assist in the development of a new gritting policy. Ensure prioritization of application. It was useful and it allowed issues to be explained beyond the obvious impacts (7)
Take an opportunity to work across multi-disciplinary and multi-sector sections of the community to address a local issue (8). Review through interactive approach the use of the appraisal tool in screening to identify key health impacts in relation to winter maintenance (8). Networking and sharing knowledge and skills (8). To see what recommendations are proposed following the session (5). To identify if this ‘process’ provides a serious and welcome access to the decision making/policy making LA process in order to permit community opportunity to INFLUENCE and bring significant change (6)
Open mind – not sure about the process, structure and framework and so my expectation is to find out about framework and process used (5)
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The next two pages show part of a toolkit that was used during the appraisal taken from “Improving Health and Reducing Inequalities – A Practical guide to health impact assessment”
(Welsh Health Impact Assessment Support Unit & Partners, 2004.)
About the Welsh Health Impact Assessment Support Unit
Health Impact Assessment is a process which supports organisations to assess the potential consequences of their decisions on people’s health and well-being. The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to developing its use as a key part of its strategy to improve health and reduce inequalities.