COUNCIL CHALLENGED ON GRITING REDUNDANCIES
TWO Shropshire Councillors have challenged the Council’s contractors – Ringway – to explain how they are going to manage gritting in rural areas of the County this winter after it emerged that they made half their staff redundant.
Heather Kidd, Shropshire Councillor for Chirbury and Worthen, said “For those of us in rural areas and many in towns too this could be disastrous. We recently had several years when communities like Bentlawnt and Priest Weston were virtually cut off cut off and grit bins were left unfilled.
“The last hard winter of 2010/11 saw a marked improvement in service but these cutbacks do not bode well if we have another tough December or January.”
Cllr Charlotte Barnes (Bishops Castle ) added “We need more robust assurances from the Council than vague statements about Ringway’s contractual obligations. What penalties, for example, are in place if they fail to deliver and adequate service when the snow begins to fall?. We also really need to know what the Council will do if Ringway fails to deliver. What contingency plan have they in place to keep the roads open?
“The situation in Shropshire with regard roads is bad enough as it is. I now have repairs that I requested more than 4 months still not done now so I don’t hold out much hope on them getting the gritters out on time.”
Both Councillors are writing to the portfolio holder, Cllr Simon Jones, asking what safeguards have been put in place to ensure that Ringway deliver in case of a hard winter.