We did all we could in deep freeze, says Brighton council (From The Argus)
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We did all we could in deep freeze, says Brighton council
2:30pm Thursday 18th March 2010 in
After the worst snow in decades a council has insisted it “did all it could” to keep Brighton and Hove moving during the big freeze.
Brighton and Hove City Council set up a cross-party scrutiny panel to examine the authority’s response to the “unprecedented” weather conditions in December and January.
The council received nearly 4,000 complaints from residents after the heavy snow caused havoc on the city’s roads, highways and pavements, forcing schools and businesses to close.
The panel, which met yesterday, had encouraged residents to put forward their suggestions on how the council could improve services in the event of future heavy snow.
Suggestions ranged from handing out bags of grit where and when they were needed rather than just using grit bins, to giving council workers special shoes to help them in the snow and ice.
NHS and PCT bosses and the operations director of Brighton and Hove Bus Company also gave evidence at the meeting on what could be improved and how to make sure the city does not come to a standstill again.
Despite generally positive comments about the way it was handled, some of the residents at the meeting said proper contingency plans had still not been put in place.
However, Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet member for the environment, defended the council’s actions during the snow and ice.
When asked if it did all it could, he said: “Absolutely. I know the staff were doing everything they possibly could do to try to continue in a very difficult set of circumstances.
“I understand people’s frustrations because some were confined to their homes for four to five days but when you explain to people fully they understand. I hope the scrutiny will be a positive exercise.”
He confirmed the council had pledged a further £100,000 a year to the city’s winter services budget.
Do you agree that the council did all it could during the big freeze? Tell us what you think below.
Comments(13)
strange fish
says...
4:27pm Thu 18 Mar 10
Do you want pay enough council tax to cover every extreme event.
The people who didnt do a good job were the idiots who didnt take any account of the weather and carried on as if everything was normal.
Luke72
says...
5:18pm Thu 18 Mar 10
Avangelist
says...
5:23pm Thu 18 Mar 10
What was stopping you being pro-active and doing something to assist in the issues that arose?
Very little if anything at all I imagine is the answer from most people.
This is a city built on expectations of others. That is where things fell down.
All these people with 4x4 vehicles, and flatbed trucks/vans could have assisted with refuse collections for example where a HGV bin truck was unable to access the area.
At the very least people could have shovelled snow like anyone who lives in a cold climate does.
Stop laying blame on someone else and look closer to home.
Before the counters appear - liability for 'accidents' is unfounded. There has yet to be a legal case where for example a shop owner is sued for clearing the pathway outside their premises and an incident occurring.
Next time, it would be really nice to see community efforts occurring rather than sitting around waiting for somebody else to fix things.
ssilkystone
says...
6:49pm Thu 18 Mar 10
Living in the real world
says...
7:19pm Thu 18 Mar 10
The council did a good job considering how much cash they have spare.
deancoxissexy
says...
9:55pm Thu 18 Mar 10
Tye
says...
6:36am Fri 19 Mar 10
sadly they'll get away with it as the vast majority don't care - proof? look at the number of comments on this story compared with a celebrity story about norman or jordan
stan bailey
says...
7:46am Fri 19 Mar 10
shrek's uglier brother
says...
11:24am Fri 19 Mar 10
lights" impressions when it did, and spending more time trying to invent reasons why it wasn't their fault instead of actually doing something ?
Warren Morgan
says...
12:36pm Fri 19 Mar 10
ssilkystone wrote:The story is not quite accurate - I chaired the panel meeting. All members were supposed to read the summary of the thousands of comments made at the time to the council, which were presented to the last Environment scrutint meeting. I did invite people with proposals to come forward but few did. We devoted an hour of our six hour meeting on Wednesday to the public - would like to have done more but what we heard was pretty representative of the many e-mails and letters received at the time.
It might have been helpful if more residents of Brighton & Hove had joined the panel meeting with proposals comments, to be honest 3 speakers from the public was embarrassing sending a message that all was well, when it clearly was not, what happened to the 4000 that complained, hats off to all the front line workers who once authorised by the managers to do so, put on a brave battle in terrible conditions taking the stick for the council being caught with its trousers down, hoping that it would not happen.
Councillor Theobald's comments are not the end of it - the scrutiny panel will now have to write the report into the response and we will be making recommendations around more grit supplies, new snowplough/gritter vehicles and so on to make sure the council can respond better next time. It will be up to Cllr Theobald and his Conservative Cabinet colleagues as to whether they adopt the recommendations or not.
Tye
says...
12:38pm Fri 19 Mar 10
Living in the real world wrote:the real world?
I enjoyed the snow and was pleased with the way people managed to cope. The council did a good job considering how much cash they have spare.
schools closed, people stayed at home . those who ventured out blocked up the NHS with broken arms and legs.
I wonder how many of the older folks died within a few weeks of their treatment or landed up in a home thanks to the Council
PS As I'm spending time in Wales noticed a council in the local meedja who did a better job (gritting pavements for example) YET still put their hand up and said they did a boo boo by believing in the climate change story and therefore had used a thinner level of asphalt on the roads hence the pot holes
If this is a "good job" in B&H heaven help us!
davyboy
says...
2:12pm Fri 19 Mar 10
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musicasart says...
4:00pm Thu 18 Mar 10
In between snow falls were they out gritting...errr no
Did they manage to ensure grit bins were stocked...errr no
Insulted my intelligence after the event ...errr yes.