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News that Tory run Staffordshire
County Council have decided to restrict road gritting to just
A & B class roads during this current spell of cold weather
is a further "nail in the coffin" for rural services
says Barry Stamp.
Barry Stamp said he well understood that the current prolong
spell of cold weather had depleted the Council's stocks of road
salt, but this should not mean that the lives of residents living
in more rural locations should be put at risk.
Villages such as Bradley, Church
Eaton, Derrington and Morton are linked to the main highway network
by a "C" class road, which under the new plan will
now not be treated.
Not only are these lanes used
by private motorists but they also carry heavy delivery lorries,
public buses and taxies, emergency vehicles, and even more worrying
school buses
In frosty weather without salting
these lanes will be treacherous and could be best described as
an accident waiting to happen.
IThe County Council must rethink
this plan and look at other ways of increasing their salt stocks.
Perhaps they should talk to the Highways Agency, who have large
stocks of salt for gritting trunk roads and motorways. They have
aready said that they would be willing to talk to local Councils
to see if they could help out.
Abandoning rural communities is short sighted and not a plan
Barry can support.
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