Parish stewards scheme

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Wiltshire Highways Service has 20 stewards, who each look after the general function and appearance of the roads, footways and street furniture in their individual areas. Parishes are visited on rolling basis in line with an indicative outline programme that is sent to each local Council. The duration of each visit is varied in response to the key issues within each local area.

The stewards are equipped with a purpose-built Land Rover vehicle, which is clearly marked and fully equipped to attend to most events. A system of satellite tracking, mobile radio and telephone communications enable the stewards to respond very rapidly to a wide variety of problems which occur on the roads.

The scheme was introduced in the autumn of 2006 and has proved extremely popular with many Parish and Town Councils. The work of the stewards has begun to restore the appearance of many areas, a process often regarded as crucial in protecting civil pride.

Examples of the type of work which is routinely undertaken by stewards include:

• hand clearing, and cutting of growth from drainage grips and drain gully covers
• 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
• pothole and minor carriageway repairs
• responding to road closure requests from the emergency services
• removal of ragwort
• treatment/removal of weeds, in rural areas

During times of extreme weather, the stewards are the first line of response, during normal working hours. Outside of normal hours most stewards actively participate on a call-out basis.

The stewards do not operate in isolation and are supported in their role by many mechanised resources, where the work exceeds what one man may achieve. They include verge mowers, high-pressure drain cleaning machines and the county's multi-purpose fleet of Unimog vehicles.

Making a difference - the parish stewards scheme

Watch a video about the work our parish stewards do.

If you require a transcript of this video, please contact the service using the details below:

Related documents

• Parish Steward Programme 2011 - North 43kb
• Parish Steward Programme 2011 - South 85kb
• Parish Steward programme 2011 - Central 57kb

Last updated: 18 July 2011