1. How big is the team?

We currently have a complete team of 16 Civil Enforcement Officers with a current recruitment taking place to make up to 17 officers, of these 2 are Supervisors. 5.5 Officers are deployed locally to Council districts for off street enforcement. The rest are deployed to Staffordshire County Council – taking out rest days, holidays etc. We cover from 7am up until 10pm with three shifts across the County.

2. Where you have a number of requests for deployment on a said time and date, how do you decide where to deploy?

Enforcement deployment is strategized through a triangle hierarchy – Clear Streets complaints/requests take priority > followed by school enforcement complaints > then generalised school enforcement > known hotspot areas for non-compliance > known areas with regulations.

3. How and where do you deploy when you have no specific requests for attendance?

This is put into a beat management listing- where there is no request then all areas are covered for their regulation status. All locations have a patrol beat that are expected to be enforced daily.

Towns / Cities take priority – within these residents permit bays, on street Pay and Display locations and line restrictions such as Double Yellows / Single Yellows, then limited waiting bays – these are the walking beats. We also have a mobile patrol that patrols the local sub districts such as Chadsmoor, Blackfords, Bridgtown, Norton Canes, Heath Hayes&Wimblebury, Hednesford – again DYL / SYL take priority and Limited waiting bays. Very rarely do we receive no specific requests for enforcement.

4. Do you have an overall deployment strategy?

Yes – to deploy officers to locations where there are known vehicles parking in contravention – Refer to Staffs County Clear Streets policy. More often than not, a visual presence of an officer will deter drivers from parking in contravention.

5. Do we have routine deployments in the South of the county?

Yes – again priority is given to towns. Daily Deployment is given to the following areas: Cannock&Rugeley towns, Lichfield City Centre, Tamworth Town Centre, East Staffs – Burton has two foot beat officers, Uttoxeter, Rocester and Tutbury has a daily patrol and the outer sub districts such as Ilam, Mayfield, Barton U Needwood, Winshull, Stapenhill, South Staffordshire has an officer deployed approx. twice a week depending on the season/events – with the main villages Penkridge, Codsall, Kinver, Brewood and Wombourne being given priority- sub districts such as Gt Wryley, Cheslyn Hay, Coven, Pattingham, Perton, Swindon and Enville receiving visits ad hoc.

6. Anything else you think of relevance?

Mobile patrols are split within districts also so that all out of town restrictions are covered.

• Cannock has 5 mobile patrol areas (Bridgtown & Hednesford, Chadsmoor & Blackfords and Hednesford, Wimblebury & HeathHayes and Hednesford, Norton Canes, Chasewater and Hednesford, Rugeley & Brereton & Hednesford) .
• Lichfield has 2 mobile patrols areas Fradley, Armitage & Alrewas and then Streetly, Fazeley, Shenstone, Hammerwich and Burntwood.
• Tamworth has one mobile patrol covering all areas – Amington, Quarry Hill, Coton Farm, A38/Motorway, Glascote, Wilnecote
• South Staffordshire has 2 mobile patrols – North of Codsall and South of Codsall

Staffordshire Highways bulletin August 2023

Kerb replacement Summer is here and with the generally good weather, we will be stepping up our road repair programme, and making the most of the £30 million that is being invested in maintaining and improving Staffordshire highways over the next two years.

Just as crews are working hard on our roads, officers are also working hard to ensure that works on the highway are coordinated and delivered with the least disruption to road users. It's no mean feat to coordinate works on 6,000km of road.

Where possible we encourage joint working between our crews, and those of utility companies such as water and electric. We also try to ensure that major works (especially in close vicinity to schools) are carried out during half-terms and school holidays when the traffic is generally lighter. In some cases though, emergency works need to be carried out at very short notice, which takes a lot of coordinating and means joint working isn't always possible.

Information on how to find out who is responsible for roadworks in your area is available via one.network.

WEED SPRAYING PROGRAMME UNDERWAY

Weeds on side of road

Our weed spraying programme is under way across the county, where our sub-contractors are tackling weeds in order to maintain visibility, prevent structural damage to the road structure and improve safety for road users.

Weed spraying is an important routine maintenance activity for Staffordshire Highways, especially in the summer when the warm (and sometimes damp) weather can cause them to grow and spread rapidly. Local councils often enhance the level of service by undertaking their own weed spraying operations to help maintain and improve the appearance of the local area.

The 2023 weed spraying programme can be viewed on our programmes page.

FAQS

WHEN DO YOU WEED SPRAY?

Routine activities to control the growth of weeds within the highway take place every growing season, with one single treatment between April and August. We have recently increased the frequency of our weed spraying, meaning we now treat weeds three times a year in April/May, July/August and October/November.

Weed spraying is weather dependent which means that there can be a slight delay to the programme.

WHERE DO YOU WEED SPRAY?

In rural areas, for roads with a speed limit of 40 mph and above, existing weeds along the kerb and channel will be treated. In urban areas for roads with a speed limit of 30 mph and below, we will spray the kerb, channel and the back of the footway (pavement) where a hard edge such as a fence or wall exists, if weeds are present.

WHAT CHEMICALS DO YOU USE?

Due to regulations associated with the toxicity of weed spraying chemicals, the solution used by our contractors is very mild and is only effective on growing plants. New weeds that grow following the treatment will be unaffected by the chemical.

Schools

There are ongoing problems at Five Ways, Gorsemoor and Heath Hayes about parking and speeding.

Five Ways employ a parking warden and have “parking Buddies” (standing bollards) on the pavement.

Heath Hayes School has parking buddies as well.

The PCSOs and Clear Streets are aware of problem parking and regularly attend.

Five Ways Island

Following our request, advance signs warning of the 7.5 tonne weight limit prohibition have been added to the approach signs for Five Ways Island (December 2009).

School Crossing Patrols – Current Position

School Crossing Patrols are in many cases funded by Staffordshire County Council. The Parish Council does not employ any Wardens.