Council reminded of legal duties to remove road obstructions

The issue that several minor roads in the county have been blocked was brought up in the questions from the public section of a council meeting agenda on Thursday, July 11.

Chris Marsden submitted a written question to the cabinet member for highways, Liberal Democrat, Councillor Jackie Charlton that received a response.

The rules allow Mr Marsden to ask an extra question based on the answer he has received.

"Three roads alone account for nine obstructions to all users so not just a nuisance," Mr Marsden said.

He said that the unclassified (U) roads are the 1410 near Clyro, the 1423 near Glasbury that had been obstructed for more than 30 years and the 1445 near Painscastle, that had been blocked for more than eight years.

"When will they be cleared?" asked Mr Marsden.

He added: "I appreciate priorities and budgets limit resources to clearing these valuable natural roads. However the Highways Act states it is a duty to assert and protect all highways in the area and provided no excuse to delay enforcement.

"These have been obstructed for decades. All wilful obstructions should be cleared within the year, a robust letter is all that should be required.

"I do not consider that PCC's (Powys County Council) approach is reasonable."

In response, Councillor Charlton said: "I know how important this is to you, it’s important to us as well. It may not seem that way and I know you have had conversations with us."

The cabinet member added that she understood Mr Marsden was preparing to take a legal route on the issues and that the council would be "happy to support and help" him in this endeavour.

Councillor Charlton said: "I totally understand why this is a frustration to you, it’s a frustration to us as well.

"We will look into this further and these particular instances as these are only three you have highlighted and I know there are a lot more.

"The process is a complex and difficult one and we are trying to do our best."

The written question that Mr Marsden had submitted before the meeting was: "Nine highway obstructions on minor country roads on the council's statutory list of streets have been reported over a number of years, yet these are still obstructed today.

"There is net zero cost to PCC, as the council can charge remedial costs against the obstructor.

"Why is the council failing to take actions? Has the council given up on highway obstructions?"

Councillor Charlton replied: "With regard to obstructions on minor roads, the highway authority will take a reasonable approach to seek to resolve such matters.

"Whilst such obstructions may sometimes be a nuisance, the highway authority will endeavour to take a reasonably practical approach to prioritising its actions by having a due regard to the character of the routes by their nature and amount of traffic by which is ordinarily used, in comparison to the resources and manpower required to carry out such work.

"It is for the highway authority to determine the priority of its resource in comparison to using it elsewhere on the highway network."