News from County Councillor Rob Kendrick
More than just a job
One of the responsibilities I have as a councillor is visiting the children’s services we provide. When visiting I take the opportunity to talk to staff and children. Recently I re-visited a children’s home to see how improvements to facilities were going. I was struck by the sheer dedication of the staff to provide the best possible care for children with disabilities. It is certainly more than just a job for them.
In the same week I also attended the official opening of the rebuilt St Lawrence Special School in Horncastle. The project is one of last in the current £100 million programme to provide state of the art schools for children with Special Educational Needs across the county. This programme reduces the need for children to travel long distances to a school that can cater for their particular needs. It is reassuring to see that children are being provided with the very best facilities.
Review: 135,000 Highways jobs completed in five months
In previous updates I have reported on highways works, a good number of which we have had in our area. We now have the figures for works completed. Almost 41,000 potholes repaired is just one part of the summer works. Figures now in show that, from the start of May to the end of September, Highways completed nearly 135,000 road improvements - including almost 41,000 potholes repaired - in the county.
Throughout Lincolnshire, Highways maintenance had 18,524 potholes reported in the period via our reporting routes, including the free app “Fixmystreet” . The council more than doubled the reported pothole figure by repairing 40,745 across the five months.
187 footpaths were rebuilt in the holiday season too, as were 144 roads. The Summer resurfacing programme was a huge success once again, with a massive 484 roads dressed with a new stone-chip layer to not only improve performance, but to seal the top of the road to protect it ahead of the winter weather.
244 footpaths were also dressed, 32 drainage schemes tended to and 1,351 tree and vegetation jobs (cutting back or removing a hazard or blockage to the road or path) carried out.
Streetlight repairs saw 3,118 jobs completed, whilst the gullies upkeep teams were operating at capacity, clearing a massive 69,694 gullies to help keep surface water flowing into the drains.
How the Summer of ‘On the Road in ’24’ has delivered in numbers:
- potholes repaired: 40,745
- pothole reports: 18,524
- footpaths rebuilt: 187
- roads rebuilt: 144
- roads surface dressed: 484
- footpaths surfaced dressed: 244
- drainage schemes: 32
- streetlight repairs: 3,118
- tree and vegetation jobs: 1,351
- gullies cleaned out: 69,694
In colder months Highways will be continuing with repairs and also “re-texturing” some road surfaces to help improve tyre grip. Not forgetting of course, the winter gritting programme. Please do continue to use “Fixmystreet” to report highways defects.
Veterans set up car service for the local community
I have been pleased to support in recent months a great initiative by a group of local armed forces veterans. Their aim is to provide a ‘low-cost’ service, working with surgeries and health clinics to provide a ‘door to door’ service second to none. If you go to www.afca-vcs.org.uk you can find out more about the service.
They are looking for more drivers to join the scheme . The age range for drivers is 18 – 75 years and drivers are assessed prior to processing for a driver’s role.
AFCA-VCS is a registered Voluntary Car Service with Lincolnshire County Council transport support group (LCC-TSG).
Voluntary drivers will need to apply for a FREE DBS check ‘vulnerable adults only’.
Voluntary Drivers will receive compensation for their use of car at 45p per mile. No TAX declaration is required until drivers exceed 10,000 miles which is unlikely. Voluntary drivers will be working with a local coordinator to organise the service users transport journeys.
AFCA-VCS will provide a letter of engagement for drivers’ current insurance provider with no change to their current insurance premium. AFCA-VCS provide a liability insurance for passengers should anything happen during the journey.
Voluntary drivers are flexible and not committed to fixed working times, voluntary drivers will need a smart mobile phone and have a ‘WhatsApp’ profile. They operate a’ WhatsApp’ group for requesting availability when transport journeys being booked
They also offer Pet transport service, not all drivers will volunteer for this and that is understandable. However, guide dogs and service dogs are part of their service user group.
To become a driver or to chat about the service: please call Patrick on 07951 199 059 or email them on info@afca-vcs.org.uk
Councillor Rob Kendrick
Member for Metheringham Rural Division
Chairman of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee
Lincolnshire County Council, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL