Grit Bins must be ready in time for Next Winter

Following the chaos experienced in many parts of Surrey this winter, Lib Dem Councillors at County Hall called for the Conservative Administration to ensure that grit bins are ready before next winter.

Cllr Stephen Cooksey (Dorking and the Holmwoods) tabled a motion at this week's Council meeting calling for a review of the Council's strategy, to ensure that grit bins are ready before next winter. However, the Conservatives refused to discuss the actions proposed and instead referred it to a Committee that has no powers to make decisions, thereby delaying any action until June at the earliest.

Cllr Cooksey said: "The snow earlier this year showed that the Council has something of a haphazard strategy for identifying and maintaining grit bins. When the snow came some had been filled, some were empty, some were broken. In some cases requests for filling prior to the snow had been ignored and in other cases requests for new bins had not even been considered, let alone actioned."

"I had more complaints about grit bins during the snow period than about any other aspect of the County Council's operation. Many people were unable to access main roads because grit was not available and were therefore trapped in their homes," he continued.

"This was a very straightforward and practical motion, which I am sure would have been welcomed by residents across the County, to whom this is a very important issue. It is unacceptable that the Conservative Administration should waste valuable time by refusing to take immediate action to ensure that residents faced with snow and ice next winter will not have to endure similar problems with grit bins."