Action call on Walsall schools shut during snow
Council officers in Walsall are being urged to work with headteachers to reduce the number of school closures during heavy snow and blizzard conditions.
The call has come from Willenhall North councillor Ian Shires. Dozens of schools closed across the borough last Friday and Monday following heavy snowfall, due to slippery conditions making access difficult.
Councillor Shires said he intended to raise the issue with other cabinet members on the council. He has also suggested shopkeepers should be consulted to ensure businesses can remain open and continue trading efficiently in the snowy weather.
He said: "Perhaps we can work with schools through their governing bodies, and shopkeepers, to ask them ways in which we can help them to help themselves.
"It's about getting the community spirit going and making things more efficient. If we can work together, we will all benefit."
Walsall Council leader Mike Bird said schools must pay for gritting services and few of them had been prepared to.
He added: "I think there's little more we can do than we are doing. It's unfortunate we are limited with our resources."
It comes after Walsall Council apologised after overnight road gritting was not carried out and teams took to the roads later than other areas.
The brown bin service in Walsall will be suspended until April 8 following the recent bad weather.
