Cash help for councils as fears of another Big Freeze increase

Town and parish councils across the East Riding will again be able to apply for emergency funds to keep streets and pavements clear of snow and ice.

Last year for the second year running, council teams were pushed to their limits as wintry weather caused havoc for motorists and inflicted millions of pounds of damage to the road network.

Despite the mild weather so far, some experts are predicting a third tough winter in a row.

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Last December East Riding Council introduced a pilot scheme to support town and parish councils to undertake snow clearing, gritting and other work on roads.

The scheme was funded by a grant of £175,000 provided by the council through the Local Strategic Partnership and there were 11 successful applications from across the region.

This year the council will be directly providing funding through its economic development department, which has set aside a budget of around £200,000.

Town and parish councils can apply for up to £3,000.

Head of streetscene services John Skidmore said: “We were severely tested last year and we have made some minor operational improvements but the plans stood up very well.

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“The innovative grant scheme we launched last year during the severe weather was very successful and well received by the parish and town councils and the council has agreed to extend it this year.”

The grant scheme is also available to help communities deal with other severe weather, including flooding.

According to a report, being discussed tomorrow, the council is trying to keep a lid on the number of new salt bins issued, after nearly doubling the amount issued in the past five years. They cost £80,000 a year to maintain.

The report says keeping 900 bins checked and topped up with salt in a vast rural area is “challenging”, particularly in the worst of the weather.

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In the extreme weather last year staff were redeployed and outside contractors employed to keep up the manpower levels required; as many as 20 teams of two deployed, each with a vehicle, with five teams tasked to answer emergency calls.

Mr Skidmore said the authority would be working closer with towns and parishes this year to maintain salt bins, many of which were bought in response to last winter’s bad weather.

He said: “Yes, we will consider requests (for new ones) and are working with towns and parishes, a number of whom bought their own salt bins and will be replenishing them themselves.”

The council grits 38 per cent of its roads, on the so-called precautionary network, before ice or snowfall and a further 12 per cent – an extra 430km – when snow is forecast to be present beyond midday.

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In the worst of the weather last November and December, only the precautionary network was treated in an attempt to preserve salt stocks nationally.

According to Department of Transport figures last year there was a 37 per cent increase in the number of cars overturning in snow and ice.

East Riding Council has added just over 3,000 tonnes of salt to its reserves, which are kept in a new barn at its Carnaby depot. The figure represents half the reserve required.

It has also installed auto-salting systems in 11 of its 21 winter vehicles, which automatically switches the salting on and off and adjusts spread patterns.

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It will fit the systems in further vehicles as they are replaced, or as retrofits.

The council has a budget of around £1.7m for winter maintenance.

Last November and December were among the coldest on record.

More grit bins on city’s streets

Hull launches its winter awareness campaign on Friday. The council will once again provide updates on Facebook and Twitter.

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Coun Martin Mancey said the council had learned a lot, adding: “The number of grit bins has been increased, bringing the total to just under 300. Our salt supply storage is full to capacity, with more available as the season progresses, giving us access to over 7.5 tonnes.”

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