RESTRICTIONS caused by the Covid 19 lockdown are the cause of some of Bradford's snickets being impassable - Bradford Council has claimed.

Baildon Councillor Debbie Davies submitted a question about the state of Bradford's snickets and alleys prior to today's full Council meeting.

She said: "Every spring the sun shines and it rains and snickets become overgrown and people are not able to walk their usual routes as many are impassable. Given the desire to tackle obesity and activity could I suggest keeping these paths open and well maintained should be prioritised before any gimmicky initiatives to tackle these issues?"

A response from the Council's Labour leadership said many of the District's snickets were cleared and maintained through the Community Payback initiative.

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This involves people ordered by the courts to carry out community service being put to work on tasks such as maintaining public areas.

The Council response adds: "Community Payback clear over 500 paths and snickets per year.

"Due to Covid, the Community Payback work stopped and the change in operational constraints on street cleansing have meant that all cleansing activity has been focussed on the most essential work only.

"Currently the cleansing service is looking to start work with the probation service once again once restrictions are lifted and expects that internal cleansing teams will be able to help with no restrictions once more."