Today Bucknell school closed for a second day. It was an avoidable closure if only Shropshire Council had listened to the request I made following the severe rain a fortnight ago to get the blocked gullies around the school cleared.
“Today the school is surrounded by water, parents possibly having to take time off or pay for extra child care and the children losing a days education. All because Shropshire Council did not take any action. What is the point of having the public or Councillors report such problems if all the Council does is file the requests!
“I have discovered that the problem here is that the Council has put a freeze in place on ‘reactive’ gulley clearing. It has just been doing scheduled clearing – (because it would cost more to get the Councils Contractors out to deal with problems like this) – a totally inadequate response given the extreme weather conditions we are experiencing!
Heather Kidd, Councillor for neighbouring Chirbury and Worthen Divison, added: “When we last had a weather event like this a few weeks ago I made a major complaint to the Council but very little was done since. Now after the rain of the last few days the B4386 through my ward is blocked near Marton because of blocked gullies..
“I know that the Council has been hammered by cuts in its grant from the Government year after year but we all pay our Council Tax and this standard of service is simply not acceptable.”