Council shows true grit
30-JUL-10
Issued by: Duncan Bennett
North Tyneside Council managed to keep the borough's main roads clear during the severe winter weather, an independent task group has found.
And the group endorsed the council's approach of keeping large reserves of rock salt, which meant it did not experience the same salt shortages as other local authorities.
But members did make recommendations about how things could be improved in the future. These include better provision of grit bins and the supply of snow clearing shovels for council staff.
It was also felt that neighbours needed to assist those who became housebound due to the extraordinary weather conditions.
The recommendations are due to be considered at a meeting of the council's cabinet on Monday, August 9.
Cllr Ed Hodson, cabinet member for the environment and chairman of the task group, said: "The weather last winter was the severest for over 30 years.
"The council's team worked hard in very difficult circumstances to keep things moving and ensure services continued to be provided.
"However, we know residents experienced problems, which is why the elected mayor felt it was important a task group looked at whether any lessons could be learned.
"We've closely examined what happened and believe that a number of changes, which on the face it are small, will improve how we deal with winter weather in the future.
"These include improving the provision of grit bins, new snow clearing shovels for staff and urging neighbours to help those who cannot leave their homes because of the ice and snow."
The cross party task group was formed at the request of North Tyneside elected mayor Linda Arkley. It consisted of council officers plus the following members, Cllr Ed Hodson, Cllr Kevin Conroy, Cllr Marion Huscroft and Cllr Joan Bell.
In relation to grit bins, the task group's recommendations are: grit bins should be of a standard style and colour; the criteria for siting grit bins should be included in the council's winter maintenance policy; the location of all grit bins should be available on the council's website; a stock of grit bins should be retained to enable a quick response to requests in adverse conditions; ward members should be asked to identify any additional grit bin sites.
North Tyneside Council is responsible for clearing and gritting 240 miles of main roads and bus routes in the borough.
During extreme adverse conditions, the local authority goes beyond its statutory requirement by also clearing and pre-salting lower priority roads, including those which assist refuse collection, but only when the main priority roads are cleared.
Assistance will continue to be offered to businesses at a charge when resources allow, enabling them to continue trading and to retain normality within the business community.
The A19 is salted and cleared by the Highways Agency and is not the responsibility of North Tyneside Council.
ENDS