Lib Dems spread solution to county gritting fiasco (North East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

North East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@fenlandlibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems spread solution to county gritting fiasco

January 8, 2010 2:36 PM
Originally published by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have put together a six point plan to fix the county's broken gritting system.

They propose:

• A contingency plan, similar to that which exists for flooding, should be established for freezing conditions and heavy snow.

• Precautionary gritting should take place on busy footways and cycleways in advance of freezing weather, not "if icy conditions persist for a few days" which is the procedure at the moment. The safety of pedestrians, cyclists and the disabled should be a priority, not an afterthought.

• Salt bins and bags should be purchased by the county council and distributed with immediate effect to local communities.

• Further shortages of grit should be prevented. The current method of calculating the grit supply based on a five year rolling average is hopelessly unresponsive. An emergency surplus supply should exist, and storage capacity should be increased.

• The county council should urgently consult with the public and councillors on what routes need to be added to the gritting network. At present it plans to conduct its Winter Review internally, without consulting the public or its elected representatives.

• Although the county council alone receives money to grit our roads - nearly £2m per year - and has the trained staff, equipment and grit to provide the service, in emergency situations it will obviously be necessary for local authorities to pull together in the public interest in the event of emergencies.

Lib Dem highways spokesperson Kilian Bourke said: "People are right to be angry about the inadequacies of the gritting network. This happened last year, so things should have been better this time round. Instead the county council's Winter Review will not be ready until next winter.

"Precautionary gritting needs to be taking place on busy pavements and cycleways-the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and the disabled should be a priority, not an afterthought; and measures need to be in place to break up hard, compacted ice."

Cambridge City Council Deputy Leader, Catherine Smart said: The important thing is that the county council should plan properly and involve other councils in its planning. In an emergency we will all help, but there needs to be a plan in place to make the best use of all our resources.

"We should be pulling together for the good of all our residents, particularly the most vulnerable. A proper Snow Plan should sit on the shelf alongside the Flood Plan till needed."

Lib Dem County Councillor Fiona Whelan said: "Parts of my community were completely snowed in, and because their pavements and residential streets were frozen over, they had no access to wider community. In an area with an older population this is especially dangerous."