Leader says Dudley better prepared than ever for cold snap

As Dudley prepares for falling temperatures the borough is better prepared than ever for winter according to the council’s leader.

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The Met Office is forecasting single figures and freezing conditions for the coming days but Cllr Patrick Harley told councillors the authority won’t be caught out as many believe it was last year.

Cllr Harley was responding to a question from Coseley councillor Peter Drake at the November meeting of the council.

Cllr Drake said: “Last year it was a nightmare, we had snow come in at the same time as the grit bins had been removed from across parts of the borough and it caused chaos absolutely everywhere.

“Buses were virtually falling down hills, people were falling over, I had so many pensioners telling me they had falls.

“It was poor planning to take bins away at a time when we should be planning for severe weather, the weather is getting cold, are we prepared this time?”

Cllr Harley said the authority was ready for winter, new grit bins had been purchased and would be installed at relevant locations over the coming weeks.

The leader had a rebuke for some of his fellow elected members who he felt had not engaged in a survey about where the bins should be located.

Cllr Harley said: “We had the member consultation and not every member responded so that is disappointing because most members complained about various grit bins being removed.

“What you will find out from the piece of work that has been done is Dudley does more than twice what its neighbouring authorities do for its winter maintenance programme.

“That’s the amount of miles of roads it grits and the amount of grit bins, we are more prepared than ever.”

The council has also announced it spent £1.5m on a fleet of new gritting vehicles which are equipped with a variety of high-tech systems to ensure gritting is efficient, accurate and consistent.

Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, said: “The team does an amazing job, working around the clock to monitor conditions and treat the highways during the coldest periods of the year.

“Winter services are planned and delivered based on forecasts and established gritting routes, covering more than 650 kilometres of the main road network.”