Wiltshire Council Parish Steward Scheme
The aim of the Parish Steward Scheme is to create a service which provides solutions to the many minor needs of the roads and footways.
Broad Town will receive one visit a month from the steward, with a truck, equipped with a full range of hand tools and materials to address a wide variety of minor highway defects and needs.
The tasks that will be carried out will usually be identified by the Parish Council in advance of the visit.
If you see something that you think could be a suitable job for the parish steward, please email our Parish Clerk at and report the issue. Please remember the parish steward can only deal with highways related issues, so issues connected to play areas or byways would not be covered. Please bear in mind it is only one steward with a truck and bigger issues would still need to be reported to Wiltshire Council via the online app:
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywiltshire-online-reporting
Latest Task List and Visit Schedule
Parish Steward Tasks
The following details are published by Wiltshire council (December 2023) to explain in summary how the Parish Stewards can help us; attachment below gives more detail on the areas of limitation.
The team of Parish Stewards are specially trained to complete small-scale discretionary local highways priority works to town and parishes. There are 18 Parish Stewards, one for each community area, who work with representatives in their parishes to ensure all work requests are clear and are logged for review before they start the work. We also have a support gang that works with the Parish Stewards on larger-scale projects, based on demand. Each parish has a planned visit each month, with the programme set in advance over twelve-month period.
- hand clearing and cutting of growth from drainage grips and drain gully covers.
- hand clearing of blocked gullies.
- rodding of drainage systems
- clearing of small culverts, pipes, and pits
- clearing storm debris
- trimming encroaching hedges and vegetation from around road signs and railings
- cleaning and straightening small road signs.
- hand cutting small visibility areas.
- reactive emergency repairs including pothole repairs (In accordance with Wiltshire Councils Highways Inspection Manual 2018)
- find, fix & record potholes (cold repairs only)
- responding to road closure requests from the emergency services
- removal of ragwort (hand pulling or strimming of defined areas)
- treatment/removal of weeds
- graffiti and fly posting removal.
- clearance of debris and materials from scenes of road traffic collisions including clinical waste.
- siding out of footways and carriageways
- clearance of storm damaged trees from the Highway including the use of a chainsaw
Examples of types of emergency reactive local highway work which is to be undertaken by the Highway Stewards includes (but is not exclusive to). These issues can take the steward from their programme:
- resolving flooding issues – clearing drainage grips and drain gully covers, clearing of small culverts, pipes, and pits etc.
- placing emergency signage and traffic management
- fence and pedestrian barrier safe
- clearing structures and fixings and make safe.
- hand cutting vegetation in visibility areas.
- reactive pothole repair
- responding to road closure requests from the emergency services
- small masonry type works such as repairs to slabs and damaged kerbs.
- clearance of debris and materials from scenes of road traffic collisions including clinical waste
- clearance of storm damaged trees from the Highway including the use of a chainsaw – requires additional operative.
