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10
Jan
Council drafts in extra manpower to tackle ice in Harrogate district
North Yorkshire Council said this evening it has now treated 70 residential streets in and around Harrogate as well as priority routes.
The council has come under fire this week for the state of pavements and minor roads.
Many remain untreated five days after Sunday’s heavy snow and Harrogate District Hospital has reported an increase in broken bones due to falls.
A council statement this evening said “the Harrogate area and the Yorkshire Dales have been a focus of activity”.
It added extra manpower, including farming contractors and operatives from the council’s waste and parks teams, have been drafted in to treat footpaths affected in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.
The council said the extreme weather conditions had hampered its initial efforts, but “positive progress is now being made and treatments will be continuing over the weekend”.
It added it had treated “the busiest paths and those around key facilities including schools, while more than 120 grit bins replenished in the area so far”.
Minus 12
The statement said it was the most extreme weather in seven years, with temperatures plummeting as low as minus 12C.
All priority roads across North Yorkshire have been treated this evening and will be treated again early in the morning.
Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transportation, said:
We know conditions in and around Harrogate have proven particularly hazardous in recent days.
Extra manpower has been targeted there, and we are thankfully now seeing significant improvement to footpaths, with resources focussed on key facilities such as shops, schools, transport stations and hospitals.
We have also stepped in to clear the worst-affected residential streets too.
This effort continues in Harrogate, and across the county, this weekend. In addition to our gritting teams, we have extra operatives working to keep roads and paths clear.
The A59 at Kex Gill remains closed to the public following a landslip last week, with the diversion route being gritted and ploughed to ensure it is clear of drifting snow.
For more information about gritting is available here.
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