Shropshire Council has been stalling on setting up a volunteer scheme to clear pavements of snow and ice for nearly a decade. Yet this week alone, there have been many reports of falls including broken bones in Ludlow alone. It’s shocking and it is time to for the council act by introducing a volunteer snow warden scheme and clearing some particularly dangerous pavements and footpaths itself. I hate to say it’s the tip of the iceberg given the weather conditions but the map that illustrates this article is based on 89 reports incidents of falls and dangerous pavements sent to me on Facebook and Messenger in the last 24 hours. It covers only incidents that have occurred since the snow fell last Sunday and froze on Monday and only those reported to me.
Tag: snow
Ludlow Town Council to challenge Shropshire Council on pavement gritting
There have already been falls on icy pavements around the town this winter. A couple of weeks ago, a police officer sent the town council a memo on a fall by an elderly man on the sloped footpath from the Library to the Foyer. He had fallen on the icy path and had banged his head, causing a deep cut and extensive bleeding. He was concussed and it was possible that his hip was broken. He was cared for by the police officer and members of the public until paramedics arrived an hour later. Shropshire Council claims it grits priority pedestrian routes around the county (after gritting the roads) but we don’t know what the priority routes are. Ludlow Town Council on Monday agreed to ask Shropshire Council for urgent discussions to establish priority pedestrian routes in Ludlow for gritting. It will also ask Shropshire Council to provide details of […]
Snow progress on Shropshire snow warden scheme
Last summer Shropshire councillors agreed to set up a volunteer snow warden scheme across the county. The cabinet agreed to push ahead with the scheme in September. Yesterday I was told “Due to other priorities, and particularly having a new highways contractor to mobilise and the unusually high number of potholes due to the harsh winter, we unfortunately will not be able to get snow wardens up and running this year.” This is frustrating new as we face snow overnight tonight. The swingeing cuts to the council’s highways budgets means that it has no hope of clearing most pavements – and has never cleared most local pavements anyway. We need to empower volunteers to clear and grit short stretches of pavement.
It’s a heatwave, so let’s talk about snow
In the middle of a prolonged hot spell, snow is not on many people’s minds. But it was on the mind of Shropshire Council’s Place Overview committee yesterday when it met to discuss how the council responds to snow emergencies. Among the plans are a pilot snow warden scheme. I began calling for snow wardens in 2013. In May this year, Shropshire Council accepted a cross party motion asking the council to look into the case for a warden scheme. Now it looks like we can get on with it in preparation for the next cold winter.
Councillors propose snow motion to ensure Shropshire doesn’t slip into slow motion
On Thursday 17 May, Shropshire Council will discuss a cross-party motion to get pavements cleared during snow events. The idea is to use volunteer snow wardens and increase collaboration between Shropshire Council and town councils. Councillors from across the political spectrum believe that more to be done by involving the whole community in clearing pavements. They are proposing that Shropshire Council investigates a snow warden scheme. It should also draw up a protocol for its highways team to work in collaboration with town councils across the county.