Parish Lengthsman

Gamston with West Drayton and Eaton Parish Lengthsman

The modern “Lengthsman” scheme is the reincarnation of an old concept - that of a locally employed person who carries out highway maintenance tasks identified by the local community enabling an enhanced local service with local priorities. 

Glen Rutherford is contracted by Gamston with West Drayton and Eaton Parish Council as Lengthsman, meaning they are limited to certain tasks (see the list below) and is contracted for 6 hours per week (flexible over the month) which is paid for through your precept (the portion of the Council Tax you pay to the Parish Council)

Please contact the Parish Clerk clerk.gamston@outlook.com if you spot any work that may be appropriate for the Lengthsman's Work Schedule.

Lengthsman Duties

Activities can be carried out on land which is under the ownership or responsibility of either the County Council or Parish Council. Land owners’ consent will need to be sought in all other instances.

Minor highways works:

• Grass cutting (The County Council can provide a map of the verge areas that they own)
• Bus shelter cleaning
• Siding up; cutting out encroaching grass from footways with a spade
• Rights of way (communicating with land owners)
• Removal of soil/detritus where dropped or washed onto road
• Cutting of vegetation overhanging the road or pavement (or liaising with landowner as appropriate)
• Removing growth from parapets or fences and minor repairs
• Reporting safety defects e.g. potholes etc
• Maintenance of landscaping features

Signs (including reflector posts):

• Cleaning (with cold soapy water and a brush)
• Painting of heritage cast iron direction signs
• Minor repairs such as retightening the brackets where signs have slipped

Drainage:

• Grips; (cleaning existing with a spade) - a grip is a hand dug drainage channel from the edge of the road to a ditch, used where water collects.
• Outfalls; keeping the end of a drainage pipe or culvert clear of obstruction
• Localised ditching, digging out existing ditches where silted up, or digging short stretches of new ditch in the highway verge if needed.
• Cleaning leaves from on top of gully grates
• Rodding of pipes (often leading from a gully into a nearby ditch)

Rights of Way maintenance

• Extra grass cuts on gitty paths (where landownership is not usually an issue and paths are similar to adopted footpaths already maintained by the County Council)
• Clearing around overgrown public footpath signs, stiles or gates
• Minor repairs to gates, stiles and bridges (e.g. replacing broken rails)
• Polite requests to landowners/householders to cut hedges or reinstate cross-field paths (if problems are identified locally)
• Referral of work to Countryside Access Team including:
  • Bridge, stile or gate replacement or installation
  • Obstructions where the landowner is not contactable or amenable
  • Queries about path location
  • Request for new signs and way marks

Winter weather: (same responsibilities as the existing snow wardens)

• Minor snow clearing
• Gritting on footpaths and minor residential roads
• Reporting major problems

Reporting

• Reporting any major highways issues which require action to the relevant NCC District Highways Manager

Parish council/other additional tasks to include: 

•             Noticeboards & Village Entrance Sign Cleaning & Maintenance - to clean and clear around all noticeboards, clean inside the noticeboards and the glass, clean village entrance signs and reflector posts. To undertake minor repairs and repainting to the parish noticeboards, village entrance signs as necessary

•             County Council Signs and Chevrons & Street Name Plates – To clean all signs, Chevrons and street name plates.

•             Benches Cleaning & Maintenance - to clean all benches around the parish and undertake any maintenance/repainting of these as necessary.

•             Bus Stops - to sweep out all bus stops and ensure any bus stop seating is kept clean. To undertake minor repairs or repainting of bus stops as necessary

•             Parish Bins – To ensure all parish bins are kept clean on the outside and report any damages to bins to the Clerk.

•             Litter Picking around the Parishes within the 30 & 40mph zones and on pavements in other zones, and to park up and litter pick in all laybys on the A638 between Markham Moor and the last layby as you come into Retford, the layby on the road leading towards Gamston Woods, the riverbank near the bridge in Eaton and down that the river near the bridge at West Drayton approaching the A1.

•             Bottle Banks - To report the bottle banks in Markham Moor (carpark at the Markham Inn Restaurant) when full to Bassetlaw Council/Bottle Bank Company and ensure the area is kept clean from glass.

•             Fly-Tipping – Where safe to do so, any fly tip that has gone into dykes/ditches or just within the boundary of private land (woods/fields) move the fly tipping slightly so that it is on the grass verge and arrange for Bassetlaw Council to collect it via the App.

•             Red Phone Boxes – Ensure all the glass is cleaned inside & out, the insides are clean and where necessary repairs, repainting/maintenance of the boxes

•             Salt Grit Bins – To clean and carry out maintenance of bins as required, report any damaged bins to the Clerk and to ensure the contents of the bins are maintained (the salt grit within them can become solidified, and needs turning over).

•             Strimming/Grass Cutting various public spots as designated by the parish council in each village.