It’s that time of year again… The nights are getting longer, the clocks are going back. The washing just isn’t really drying out side any more and if you’re a driver you’re starting to get out to the car a few minutes earlier just in case it needs defrosting.

After the debacle that we saw last year when the snow came your local Liberal Democrat councillors have been working to ensure that every route which is salted has been reviewed and in a number of cases changes made to reflect local needs.

Cllr Allan Siao Ming Witherick said:
“We know that the council simply can’t grit every road, but it’s essential that we maintain a network which helps people get to work, school and out to local facilities so that things keep running.
This year we’ve reviewed all of them, as well as the salt bin locations. There’s also been a lot of discussions about how we can improve things in general. The salt bins are there for people to salt the roads and pavements around where they live- they aren’t there for salting private driveways. Last year in particular it was saddening to find examples where people had literally emptied entire bins which were supposed to be providing salt to keep the pavements close to residential homes etc clear.
All we can do is ask people to be responsible. Thankfully we also had many examples of people supporting vulnerable neighbours, friends and relatives and it’s this which shows the strength of our communities.”