To provide an overview of the management and operation of gully cleansing, endorsing or otherwise the current arrangements and providing recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Roads and Regulatory Services.

The committee considered a report on Gully Cleansing.

The Engineering Manager introduced a presentation and welcomed the opportunity to update the committee on Gully Cleansing.

The principal points of the subsequent discussion are summarised below:

1. In response to a question regarding progress on mapping all drains, gullies, and culverts under the responsibility of Herefordshire Council, the Engineering Manager acknowledged that the process is not yet complete and will remain challenging until inspections have been carried out across the entire county. However, progress has been made in developing a clearer understanding of the network. The report also includes a link to the full map of gullies, as well as a link to this year’s programme of works.

2. The Chairperson stressed the importance of knowing when a high percentage of the county's drains will be mapped, along with a clear strategy for achieving this goal to enable progress tracking.

3. The Cabinet Member Roads and Regulatory Services reported that progress is advancing quickly, and a significant amount of information is being gathered. It was also suggested that a progress report may be provided in the future.

4. The Engineering Manager added that an update can be brought back to the committee to highlight what progress has been made.

5. In response to a question about how a parish lengthsman can deal with gullies for their area, the Engineering Manager noted that some lengthsmen have their own jetting machine or can bring in the council’s.

6. In response to a question about how the repairs from last year’s flooding gone, the Directorate Services Team Leader noted that in terms of where assets had been identified for repair, they had been repaired using existing drainage budgets and there was an additional investment made available to last year and this year of £2m in investment. In terms of some of the locations, work had been done closely with Balfour Beatty to ensure that the right locations were prioritised.

7. The Engineering Manager added that a performance update of what’s been delivered and the programme for delivery can be brought to committee in the future.

8. In response to a question of whether a comprehensive countywide maintenance schedule has been developed to anticipate heavier future rainfall, the Engineering Manager explained that preparations are underway for the winter season. While not all areas have been addressed, many key hotspots have been covered. Significant resurfacing work has been completed across the county, with careful attention given to avoid resurfacing areas where it is not required.

9. In response to a question about whether parish councils contact Balfour Beatty or the council to let them know of their problem drains, the Directorate Services Team Leader confirmed that funding has been made available to parish and town councils for drainage works to identify and come forward with cleansing work and small level flood schemes.

10. In response to a question about a request for a dedicated gully management system to be introduced, the Engineering Manager confirmed that as part of the contract, the contractor will be bringing in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67