COUNCIL RUNS SHORT OF SALT (Jeremy Hilton)

COUNCIL RUNS SHORT OF SALT

February 5, 2009 1:21 PM

"COBRA" HAVE BEEN TOLD GLOUCESTERSHIRE MAY HAVE

"AS LITTLE AS ONE AND HALF DAYS" SUPPLY LEFT

Gloucestershire County Council has failed to secure enough salt to grit the county's roads. The Government emergency committee "COBRA" has been told that Gloucestershire may have "as little as one and a half days" salt supplies left.

Despite the widely predicted snow and weather conditions, the Conservative administration has failed to secure the supplies necessary for this contingency. There are currently no plans to resupply salt bins in the county.

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, Liberal Democrat leader said: "The situation is critical and the cabinet have to act now and secure salt supplies for the county. We've spoken to the highways agency who reassure us that motorways and trunk roads in the county will be salted. Main A roads and B roads are the council's responsibility and from midnight last night they've run out of the salt they need. Questions of how cabinet failed to plan for this will have to wait for another day. Right now, people in the county need urgent action. More schools will close and communities will be stranded if the council can't get its act together and get our roads gritted."

Liberal Democrats at Shire Hall have spoken to the Highways Agency and received reassurance their supplies for Gloucestershire are adequate and that Motorways and trunk roads in the county will be salted as normal to secure their continued use.

Liberal Democrat councillors are urging the cabinet to take immediate action to secure further supplies. An electronic conference facility is being provided by the Government office of the South West in order to help councils secure new supplies. Liberal Democrat councillors are urging the council's cabinet to participate and achieve new supplies.

Cllr Deryck Nash, LibDem, Cirencester: "The situation is critical. There are examples from around the county of communities suffering due to the lack of access to the road network. For example, the A435 between Cirencester and Cheltenham provides the route for dialysis patients to receive treatment, the Cotswold centre for voluntary services are having to work extremely hard to deal with the situation arising from the lack of gritting."

Notes:

The Government Office of South West operate a "resilience team" to help deal with emergency situations of this kind. GOSW have sent a situation report to COBRA passing on the information from Gloucestershire County Council that the council has enough salt left for a maximum of 12 gritting runs around the county and may only have as little as one and a half days left.

GOSW is organising a "tele-fit" conference in the south west to offer opportunities of mutual aid between councils in the region.