In times of snow, the Council’s priority will always be to make sure the main roads stay open and passable by routinely gritting 48% of the roads network as part of its winter maintenance. The Council’s other priority is to ensure that essential and critical services continue to be delivered to the most vulnerable members of the community such as social services clients and meals on wheels customers.
The Council will be making sure that all salt bins are stocked ready for winter and residents can now request bins are re-stocked or replaced by registering with the ‘My Services’ section of the website.
Please only make a request when a bin is below a 1/3 full. Also, please make sure you only use this salt on the public highways and not to clear private property – this is your own responsibility.
During times of bad weather information on school closures and service updates (such as social services and recycling collections) will also be available on the website. Each school is responsible for providing this information on an individual basis. The Council will also provide updates via social media where possible.
If you can, try to look out for one other and check on elderly neighbours who may be vulnerable and alone. Check that they have food supplies and are keeping warm in the cold weather. If you are particularly concerned about someone please contact our Social Services Duty Team on 01495 315700. These calls will be picked up out of hours, too. However, please note the out of hours number is for emergencies.
Councillor Haydn Trollope, the Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, said:
“We have a winter weather team made up of colleagues from service areas across the Council who work together to coordinate the Council’s response in the event of adverse weather conditions.
Our main priorities will be gritting the main roads to keep these open and ensuring the continuation of essential and critical services to the most vulnerable people in our communities. I know our dedicated staff will work to make sure that critical services continue to be delivered during severe weather, but it is also important that our communities come together to help each other, this could be from helping with snow clearance in your street to picking up some shopping for an elderly relative or neighbour. You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. It’s unlikely that you’ll be sued or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement if you’ve cleared it carefully. For more advice on this visit our website.”