Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Director of Place Management.

The report aims to clarify the council’s position on the placement of grit bins, how they are used and how requests for additional bins are considered by officers.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to note and comment on the report.

Officer contact: Gillian Heyworth at gillian.heyworth@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Place Management submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) which aimed to clarify the council’s position on the placement of grit bins, how they were used and how requests for additional bins were considered by officers.

The Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways & Transport Services (Councillor Grace Baynham) attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·       Although there was a provision of 250 gritting bins in Stockport, members commented that they were not evenly distributed across the borough. Pavement gritting did not take place in some areas and this was not compatible with the council’s attempts to encourage residents out of their cars for short journeys. Furthermore, older residents did not feel safe on icy pavements.

·       In response, it was stated that the council had applied a risk criteria to the gritting of pavements and gritted based on location such as those near stations and schools. That approach reflected what the council was able to manage within its funding and resources.

·       Provision of grit bins in an area which didn’t currently have one could be made on an exceptional basis in a location which might be considered high risk. Areas considered to be a particularly high risk included those with steep hills.

·       Members requested that steep residential areas with a high population of elderly residents be included in the gritting programme.

·       Members were advised that, whilst officers could consider individual requests for gritting roads on a case by case basis, it was not possible to make a wholesale change to the gritting programme due to funding issues.

·       Members could use ward highways budgets to fund grit bins for their local areas.

·       On occasions when snow and ice persisted, precincts were gritted. The gritting was carried out by the same people who clean streets and there were not enough of them to grit all areas, although attempts were made to grit as quickly as possible.

·       Some gritting was undertaken by other organisations, for example railway companies gritted stations and hospitals gritted hospital car parks.

·       Main roads were gritted first and it would, therefore, be preferable for cyclists to be kept as near as possible to those main roads so that they benefit from grit overspray in icy conditions.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.