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09
Jan
Salt bin campaign launched in Harrogate
Harrogate councillor Michael Schofield is to campaign to bring back salt bins for all local communities.
Salt bins, also known as grit bins, contain rock salt or road grit that people can use to treat icy roads and pavements.
Cllr Schofield, an independent who represents Harlow and St George’s on north Yorkshire Council, said the recent cold snap had highlighted how essential the bins were for residents.
But there have been concerns about the amount located in the district and how frequently they are refilled.
Cllr Schofield said lack of gritting had caused numerous missed hospital appointments and health issues, and having a better supply of salt bins could tackle this.
Writing in the comments sectionof an article about the council’s response to the cold weather on the Stray Ferret website, he said:
We have within our communities kind-hearted, community-spirited residents who wish to help. I am on the campaign to bring back salt bins for all communities.
New developments should have them as standard with a developer contribution to fund filling them for a length of time. These events as can be seen around the world are going to continue to become more frequent. Lets get back to basics. If there is salt and grit available for communities then we can all play a part in tackling the problem of the ice before it occurs by laying the salt or grit in a timely fashion.
The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Schofield how his campaign could be funded.
He said he would gladly contribute some of the £10,000 annual Locality budget, which all 90 North Yorkshire councillors receive to spend on local needs, towards salt bins.
He also suggested Locality budgets could be automatically reduced to fund the bins, or that it was an issue parish councils — including the soon-to-be-created Harrogate Town Council — could adopt, although it could lead to an increase in the council tax precept.
Cllr Schofield added:
I would urge local businesses to contribute as of course if people can’t access their local businesses then they lose trade.
North Yorkshire Council sent a list of bins available in the Harrogate district to the Stray Ferret today.
It includes 154 in Harrogate, 53 in Knaresborough and a further 177 in rural locations in the rest of the former Harrogate district, which includes Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Boroughbridge, Masham and numerous villages.
But stocks are not always topped up. A council spokesperson said:
They are refilled by November 1 each year and a second refill may be carried out mid-season or after significant snowfall. Refills will also be undertaken following any ad-hoc requests that are received during the winter season.
'We are grappling with an unusual weather event'
Gritting Station Square in Harrogate.
Karl Battersby, the council's corporate director for environment, today said in a video message that the council was "grappling with what has been quite an unusual weather event for us".
Mr Battersby said the council was used to dealing with snow and ice but the prolonged nature of the cold spell was "causing us real issues in terms of compacted ice on thr footways and meant that we have had pretty much a 24-hour gritting operation".
He added the council was "fully prepared" and was "deploying all our resources", which included working with 100 farming contractors.
Mr Battersby also said the council was redeplying staff to grit footpaths and pavements and "targeting resources on the most vulnerable locations, such as nursing homes and police stations".
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