Council bill for gritting hits £1m (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Bradford bill tripled in worst winter for 18 years
8:56am Thursday 26th February 2009 in Bradford
Exclusive By Will Kilner
The cost of sorting out the icy roads in Bradford hit £1m
The coldest winter for years has left Bradford Council with a near £1 million gritting bill, forcing it to dip into contingency funds.
The heaviest snowfalls for 18 years this month were the major reason for the Council spending £900,000 on rock salt so far this winter – nearly three times what was budgeted.
And Council chiefs have admitted that the cost of keeping the roads open could climb higher when overtime for the gritter drivers is taken into account.
Between April 2008 and now, the Council has bought 20,000 tonnes of salt.
Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council’s executive member for environment and culture, said: “When the bad weather comes, we have no choice but to supply the rock salt.
“The money has got to come out of contingencies, which are there for unexpected events like this. I believe they (the gritting teams) did an excellent job.”
The priority gritting routes in the district, comprising 250 miles of highway, remained passable at most times, but motorists on minor roads faced major difficulties, leading to a succession of collisions and cars being abandoned.
Asked if the Council’s winter preparations could have been any better. Coun Hawkesworth said: “The reality is that it’s easy for people to say things have gone to pot when we get a cold spell out of the blue.
“If it happened every year, we could prepare for it, but we can’t prepare for such a one-off.
“Everyone would like a grit bin of their own in their garage, but we just can’t do that.
“Hopefully the cost will be back around the £300,000 mark next year.”
When the heavy snow hit the district, the Council sent 27 gritters out on to the roads, with some working through the night in an attempt to prepare the roads for the morning rush hour.
Meanwhile, street cleaning staff hand-gritted pavements and pedestrian areas.
Coun Hawkesworth said: “There will be some extra costs – but not a lot – from the out-of-hours work but, during the day, we re-directed existing resources to deal with the problems caused by the weather.”
On February 2, Bradford Council despatched a convoy of vehicles to Cheshire to fetch more salt supplies after the suppliers said they couldn’t guarantee delivery.
At that stage, the Council only had about 1,000 tonnes of rock salt remaining after using 700 tonnes during a 24-hour emergency gritting operation.
By February 9, the Council had been forced to buy in supplies of table salt to treat the district’s icy pavements as local and national supplies of rock salt started to dwindle.
Comments(15)
CITY MADNESS
says...
12:57pm Thu 26 Feb 09
Thee Voice of Reason
says...
1:02pm Thu 26 Feb 09
So why has only £100,000 been put aside in the budget?
Rambo
says...
1:20pm Thu 26 Feb 09
The pavement is stained brown and there are clumps of grit at the side.
Why grit so much around a building that has been rotting for years (although you could say that for 90% of the buildings in town :) )?
What morons.
your-year - not bl**dy likely.
OLDLAD
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1:23pm Thu 26 Feb 09
bgg
says...
1:26pm Thu 26 Feb 09
Prisoner Cell Block A
says...
1:27pm Thu 26 Feb 09
ItchyBungle
says...
1:38pm Thu 26 Feb 09
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Where is this £100,000 come from? I couldn't see it in the report, nor through previous reports. IT IS SPECULATION FOLKS!
“Hopefully the cost will be back around the £300,000 mark next year.” So why has only £100,000 been put aside in the budget?
Rambo
says...
1:43pm Thu 26 Feb 09
ItchyBungle wrote:It was stated in the article about the 2.5% tax rise, I think from yesterday or the day before near the end of the article.
Thee Voice of Reason wrote: “Hopefully the cost will be back around the £300,000 mark next year.” So why has only £100,000 been put aside in the budget?Where is this £100,000 come from? I couldn't see it in the report, nor through previous reports. IT IS SPECULATION FOLKS!
howard naylor
says...
1:51pm Thu 26 Feb 09
howard naylor
says...
1:51pm Thu 26 Feb 09
Dear John
says...
2:11pm Thu 26 Feb 09
ItchyBungle wrote:"Bradford council unveils big spending plans for year
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Where is this £100,000 come from? I couldn't see it in the report, nor through previous reports. IT IS SPECULATION FOLKS!
“Hopefully the cost will be back around the £300,000 mark next year.” So why has only £100,000 been put aside in the budget?
8.26am wednesday 25th february 2009.
albion
says...
2:26pm Thu 26 Feb 09
ItchyBungle wrote:Nay lad.
Thee Voice of Reason wrote:Where is this £100,000 come from? I couldn't see it in the report, nor through previous reports. IT IS SPECULATION FOLKS!
“Hopefully the cost will be back around the £300,000 mark next year.” So why has only £100,000 been put aside in the budget?
Chris B
says...
3:34pm Thu 26 Feb 09
I wonder how much they have in this so called CONTINGENCY FUNDS.
BRADFORD ANGEL
says...
3:42pm Thu 26 Feb 09
howard naylor wrote:no joke the hole in the ground has been put on hold for four years.by westfield as they can not find enough tennants.
wot a Complete Joke that council is! Look at that Hole in the Ground in the City Centre. Absolute Eyesore...Still Councillors give ure selves a Pay Rise!
Dear John says...
12:47pm Thu 26 Feb 09