Devolved services

Devolution is an important part of our agenda and allows us to give town and parish councils opportunities to meet community needs.

Some examples of the devolved services provided are:

• grass cutting
• sign cleaning
• sign clutter removal (such as fly-posting)
• keeping footways free from encroachments (such as overgrown hedges)
• weed spraying

View the current list of town and parish councils carrying out highways devolved services PDF,114KB.

If a town or parish council agrees to take on devolved services, we provide them with funding from the Buckinghamshire Council budget.

The amount given is calculated taking into account:

• the amount it cost Buckinghamshire Council and our contractors to carry out these tasks when they were our responsibility
• the length of footway in the parish or town council area

It is up to the town and parish council to set their own level of service; some will cover additional costs themselves if they feel that extra work is needed.

If town and parish councils wish to investigate loans to fund initial equipment costs, we recommend going to the Public Works Loan Board.

Clusters and parishes will need to arrange Public Liability Insurance (of £10 million) and, possibly Employers' Liability Insurance. Speak to an insurance broker for advice.

We are asking town and parish councils to have full responsibility for works, although we will remain as the enforcement authority. Under devolution legislation, we remain as the principal authority and our statutory functions remain. However, we will seek to devolve liability for certain services.

A town or parish council can arrange for residents or volunteers to carry out certain activities. The same safety requirements will apply to volunteers as to paid staff.

Operatives, whether volunteers or paid staff, should be sufficiently trained for each task. We can assist with the training of town or parish employees but if you decide to use a contractor it will be their responsibility to ensure staff are appropriately trained.

If devolved services are taken on, we have an agreed minimum standard that is expected for works carried out. For example, we expect that within grass cutting responsibilities, visual splays are kept clear to ensure that road users have clear sight of the road. Beyond this, it is up to parishes to determine service delivery.

If you're a town or parish council needing support in undertaking highway devolved services, contact [email protected].

To report a general highways matter, see report problems on roads, streets and pavements.