Agenda item

Councillor Tim Warren in an ad hoc statement welcomed the changes to the policy, particularly the snow warden scheme.  He was concerned that community volunteers were worried about possible liability and asked the Cabinet for assurances about this.

Peter Duppa Miller (Secretary of the Town and Parish Councils Association) made an ad hoc statement in which he expressed support for the snow wardens pilot scheme, as laid out in paragraph 5.10 of the report.  He referred to paragraph.  The Association also supported the proposal in the policy that grit bins in rural areas would be either yellow or green.

Councillor Vic Pritchard made an ad hoc statement in which he observed that the scheme had previously been weak in rural areas, and he was concerned that these areas should not be excluded from the proposed scheme.

Councillor Roger Symonds, in proposing the item, said that a further report would be brought to Cabinet at a later date about the snow wardens scheme and in response to Councillor Warren’s observations about personal liability, he said that the issue would be fully addressed in that report.  In response to Councillor Pritchard, he explained that although the Council was able to keep the main roads clear, it was not possible to cover all roads, so volunteers were needed in rural areas, supported by grit bins.

Councillor Cherry Beath in seconding the proposal said that she applauded the trial which would be in place in time for the coming winter.  She observed that it would be important to provide training so that volunteers did not use more than the required amount of salt.

Councillor Paul Crossley thanked Councillor Symonds, and Kelvin Packer (Service Manager - Highways Networks Management) for the hard work they had put into improving the scheme.  He recognised that there would be high demand during the winter, but felt that the pilot scheme was the way forward.

Councillor Nathan Hartley thanked Councillor Symonds for meeting with Peasedown St John Parish Council in July.  He hoped that Peasedown could be a pilot area.

Councillor Symonds summed up by saying that the Highways Service Manager would consider additions to the gritting rounds, but this would be difficult to achieve.

Rationale

The Winter Service Policy is based upon nationally recognised standards set out in Well Maintained Highways – A code of Practice.  The Council's Winter Service Policy is a good standard of service to provide for the residents and the travelling public. An increase in standards would require significant extra investment for relatively rare snowfall events. Any reduction in standards of service would be very unpopular with the residents and users of the highway network, as well as increasing the potential for claims against the Council.

Other Options Considered

None.

On a motion from Councillor Roger Symonds, seconded by Councillor Cherry Beath, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE the Winter Service Policy as the Highway Authority’s policy for winter maintenance in Bath and North East Somerset;

(2) To ASK for a separate report to Cabinet on the outcome of the Community Snow Warden Pilot scheme, following Winter 2011.