Council has lessons to learn from cold snap (From Daily Echo)

They all ought to get together, Highways Agency, both Councils and have a strategic plan that isn't 'mismatched'. It seems Soton was a lot better off than Hants from what I've heard BUT it is a total fibbarooney that they gritted Mounbatten way in the early hours on the 23rd December and then claimed the frozen rain washed salt away. I was out from 5am that day, it wasn't gritted, came out to find my car encased in ice at 6.30 whilst in a car park of a supermarket, drove into town where it was precarious but by 9am when I came back home again it was utter chaos as roads hadn't been gritted. I saw city centre roads being gritted at around 8.30am/9. There ought to be a system that workers are picked up in 4x4's or other suitable vehicles and deployed throughout the night and diverted from other services like refuse/gardening etc and this written into their contracts and paid fairly for doing unsociable hours.

there also needs to be a community response where schools ask local residents/governors/
local teachers to help clear school playgrounds/car parks, ditto with hospitals (the pavements up Dale Road to the hospital were AWFUL! Residents should also take it upon themselves (if they are able to and fit and healthy) to take a shovel and clear the bit of pavement outside their own houses. In rural areas farmers with tractors should be signed up and reimbursed for fuel costs. All organisations should have teams of volunteers who they sign up in the Autumn to take action in these events. The AA warned the government that this country was ill-prepared and sadly it turned out to be true.

Parents at schools should also be consulted in autumn to decide if they want schools to be closed/whether they can keep them open for minimum of service/whether local teachers can go into their local school and teach if they cannot get to their own?

We should all be proactive to make things better in future.

A lot of fuss and bother about what "might" happen in extreme weather conditions that only effect this area once every 20 years.
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Personally, I think the gritters did a good job around here. Well done to all the staff who helped clear the main roads. It's impossible to do every road, so they did their best.
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If the council spent millions on more gritters and large stockpiles and more than likely, they weren't needed, no doubt the local paper and whingers would be saying "Councils waste taxpayers money".

Southampton - Good
Eastleigh - Good
Winchester - Diabolical

Irate Wintonian wrote:
Southampton - Good
Eastleigh - Good
Winchester - Diabolical

dont for get to take into account that southampton and probley eastleigh is protected from the bad weather when it comes in from the north, one of the blessing's of the downs and the plain

the council wont learn a lesson cos the same thing happened last year what make anyone think it will be any different the council is crap at organising anything but great at grabing money .

Council's and national government must be very slow learners. Because they keep on repeating this lame excuse.
Investment in few special needs teachers for these councillors may be a good idea. They could teach them how to face the facts and tell the truth, which in turn may help in building the people’s confidence in the parasites of democracy.

Paramjit Bahia wrote:
Council's and national government must be very slow learners. Because they keep on repeating this lame excuse.
Investment in few special needs teachers for these councillors may be a good idea. They could teach them how to face the facts and tell the truth, which in turn may help in building the people’s confidence in the parasites of democracy.

its on the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC//cnwp), and are going to stand in some areas, barking is high on the list

Personally I think the council did quite a good job, all things considered. I bet all the moaners wouldn't like their tax bills increase to allow for more gritters to be held on standby! Countries like Russia, Norway, Sweden, etc, are able to get on with daily life with minimal disruption because the amount of snow they get justifies a full fleet of gritter trucks. This is not the case in the UK.

This will make you laugh. Been into town this morning to do some long overdue errands, was dreaming along, iPod on and slipped over, not on ice but on the grit that was on the pavement! I felt a right fool, but the guy who helped me up thank you, you wee lovely! :) exit one v. red-faced Freemantlegirl! (and yes I did have heels on but not impossibly high ones)

On december 29th , a climate scientist announced that the UK would experience a severe cold weather event lasting until the 15th January. He was ignored because he is not one of the global warming sheep who tell us a load of crud to remain on the gravy train. The cold weather was caused by an extreme negative phase of the arctic ascillation and if the government and councils has listened to him instead of the scientists-on-the-ta
ke at the MET office who talk utter rubbish then rock-salt shipments from Italy would have been already here as the UK simply can not mine enough of its own rock-salt once we are short on supplies due to lack of fore-sight.
There is abolutely no reason whatsoever that councils should have had to run short of rock-salt apart from complete and utter government incompitence

southy wrote:

Paramjit Bahia wrote:
Council's and national government must be very slow learners. Because they keep on repeating this lame excuse.
Investment in few special needs teachers for these councillors may be a good idea. They could teach them how to face the facts and tell the truth, which in turn may help in building the people’s confidence in the parasites of democracy.

its on the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC//cnwp), and are going to stand in some areas, barking is high on the list

OK southy, I give in. What are they going to stand in and why, and what do dogs have to do with the weather, as I seem to have lost the plot somewhere.

Parmi I wish you wouldn't imply that Councillors have special needs. My sons both go to special school, and sadly maybe won't ever be lucky enough to hold public office like that (although I'd like to see more people with learning disability involved and taken seriously). That sort of comment really does learning disabled children and people no good whatsoever and is very offensive. Sorry if I go on about this always but this is my passion and if I don't point it out to people nothing will ever change for the better.

Southy, eh???? lol perhaps I hit my head in my fall because I don't understand a word of what you put lol!

Freemantlegirl - in response to your first post... I dont think its right or fair to divert people from other jobs in the way you seemed to imply, it also means a load of job description, maybe even training changes and this would end up costing.
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I know in my own employment people have said similar changes, and tbh I thought it was unfair and ended up having to fight my employers over it.
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I think the councils did fine, as did the workers. We have to remember we as individuals also need to prepare, we cant just rely on government and councils to all the work for us. We also have to remember as said by others that other countries cope well, they also have a lot more to deal with. Many have higher taxes to cope with this (Finland for example pays an income tax of something like 48%)
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So buy the spiked shoe covers, the car winter tyres, etc. Other countries like Canada's citizens even shovel the snow off the pavements outside their homes themselves.

downfader wrote:
Freemantlegirl - in response to your first post... I dont think its right or fair to divert people from other jobs in the way you seemed to imply, it also means a load of job description, maybe even training changes and this would end up costing.
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I know in my own employment people have said similar changes, and tbh I thought it was unfair and ended up having to fight my employers over it.
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I think the councils did fine, as did the workers. We have to remember we as individuals also need to prepare, we cant just rely on government and councils to all the work for us. We also have to remember as said by others that other countries cope well, they also have a lot more to deal with. Many have higher taxes to cope with this (Finland for example pays an income tax of something like 48%)
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So buy the spiked shoe covers, the car winter tyres, etc. Other countries like Canada's citizens even shovel the snow off the pavements outside their homes themselves.

So you're saying then if the dustmen can't do their rounds because of the snow and ice, that it's cost effective to have them sat around for a couple of weeks!! I think not! Council workers are public servants and have to remember that we ALL have to adapt sometimes in tough times. I saw some local teachers out shovelling snow, is that in their job description?

Appreciate it may not be appropriate in every circumstance but these snaps are only for a few weeks' a year and if workers are prevented from doing their usual job, are fit to do so, then they should be diverted to emergency cover and as I said paid appropriately for unsociable hours.

The Councils and Government had warnings of these cold snaps, both by scientists and organisations like the AA, they chose to ignore it. The cost of not dealing with it properly (think of police time contacting people to come and get abandoned cars alone) will run into millions. Canada and the Nordic countries have a lot longer winter and severe conditions for longer I think you'll find their general standard of living is much higher than ours because of the higher taxes too!

freemantlegirl2 wrote:

downfader wrote: Freemantlegirl - in response to your first post... I dont think its right or fair to divert people from other jobs in the way you seemed to imply, it also means a load of job description, maybe even training changes and this would end up costing. . I know in my own employment people have said similar changes, and tbh I thought it was unfair and ended up having to fight my employers over it. . I think the councils did fine, as did the workers. We have to remember we as individuals also need to prepare, we cant just rely on government and councils to all the work for us. We also have to remember as said by others that other countries cope well, they also have a lot more to deal with. Many have higher taxes to cope with this (Finland for example pays an income tax of something like 48%) . So buy the spiked shoe covers, the car winter tyres, etc. Other countries like Canada's citizens even shovel the snow off the pavements outside their homes themselves.

So you're saying then if the dustmen can't do their rounds because of the snow and ice, that it's cost effective to have them sat around for a couple of weeks!! I think not! Council workers are public servants and have to remember that we ALL have to adapt sometimes in tough times. I saw some local teachers out shovelling snow, is that in their job description? Appreciate it may not be appropriate in every circumstance but these snaps are only for a few weeks' a year and if workers are prevented from doing their usual job, are fit to do so, then they should be diverted to emergency cover and as I said paid appropriately for unsociable hours. The Councils and Government had warnings of these cold snaps, both by scientists and organisations like the AA, they chose to ignore it. The cost of not dealing with it properly (think of police time contacting people to come and get abandoned cars alone) will run into millions. Canada and the Nordic countries have a lot longer winter and severe conditions for longer I think you'll find their general standard of living is much higher than ours because of the higher taxes too!

The dustmen already struggle to fit the rounds in as it is. I think it would be unfair to levy extra duties on them. As I said above it should be down to us to cope, not for officials and public servants to do everything for us.
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There is ofcourse an element of mucking in sometimes (as in the case of the teachers), and it should be remembered that this is not part of their job. The section of pavement outside my home was cleared, as was part of the road - by me. I did not expect an official body to do this for me, and if we all took our part things would be quite a lot simpler.