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by Lib Dem team on 21 December, 2009
Here’s the message councillors have received about Stockport’s gritting from Solutions SK (the company wholly owned by Stockport Council which does these sorts of things):
“Over the weekend we have been doing non stop gritting operations, using 440 tonnes of salt.
Due to the road surface temperatures constantly remaining below freezing and frequent heavy snow showers the laying snow and ice will be slow to melt.
From Friday we have been in constant communication with the Met Office throughout the weekend monitoring the situation.
This morning we will be carrying on gritting operations on the tertiary routes along with hand gritting teams from Highways, Cleansing and Grounds with 2 JCB’s working on the High level Roads snow removing.”
See also my other posts on this issue, plus the comments made on each:
Snow, travel and services on 6th Jan
What gritting was done on the night of 23rd December in Stockport?
My experiences of snow and gritting in Stockport
How’s Stockport done on gritting (26th Dec)
Ice in Stockport – now we need to tackle the cul-de-sacs
Stockport ice and gritting update, 4th Jan
31 Comments
I’ve seen no evidence of gritters or any grit for that matter, I live in Gatley. Think Solutions SK are exaggerating their efforts.
ps what happened to ‘pre-emptive’ gritting?
The residential roads are extyremley hazardous.
There has been no signs whatsoever of any form of gritting.
I have witnessed cars sliding, my own included.
I reside in Brinnington, the hill and surround roads have not been touched by any gritter.
Accidents and injuries will certainly happen if the council do not commence gritting immediatley
Ditto, I’ve not seen a gritter on the roads in or near Romiley or Bredbury, nor any evidence that Grit had been spread. What evidence, other than the word of SK solutions, do we have?
i have seen no gritters in or around stockport and i have to drive back from work at midnight with this horrible weather, normally i will see them on the way to work or on the way back but nothing and no grit on the roads????? something needs to be done before we have an accident
The main roads are spread with salt, which may be less obvious that grit (as I understand it, salt dissolves into the snow giving us salty water) so not seeing grit across the roads doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done.
I’m told there was an issue with the specific weather conditions on Saturday. Salt was being spread through the day on Saturday and the rain we had on Saturday evening washed some of that salt away so it had to be re-done on the Sunday.
I can’t speak for Brinnington, Bredbury or Romiley, but I did drive and walk around Gatley, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Bramhall and Woodford.
Across those the main and minor roads were pretty clear, I didn’t come across people skidding.
As I understand it, the residential roads aren’t salted – there isn’t enough time or salt – but there are the grit bins on steeper residential roads.
Why can we not get a straight answer. It a typical MP’s response.
Tony – really not sure what you want. I can give you my own experiences and opinions, plus I can pass on the information I’ve been sent by the Council. I’m not going to start making stuff up!
Why salt and not grit?
I think all “grit” is actually rock salt, or salt mix. Stockport has a stockpile of 2000 tonnes of salt, from the Cheshire salt mines, several hundred of which have been used over the last few days.
The salt works on roads by being crushed by vehicles. That mixes it with the snow and ice, melting it. The final result should just be a clear road – not lots of visible grit lying about.
I assume there are different grades. For residential streets with low traffic flow, I guess you want a mix with more sand or similar in, as that gives immediate traction without the traffic flow.
So when have they been gritting. I have not seen one lorry. Usually in these conditions I always see them. What hours are the working?
Please let me know. Its worth standing outside just to see one.
so much for the road been gritted/salted i have had to call into work and have an UNPAID night off as the roads are iced up too much for me to go in, who is going to cover my wages because the council are not doing their jobs?????
Which roads can’t you get past, Yvonne? I’ve been driving around for half the day; some of the roads are a little tricky (especially with all the extra snow and sleet today) but I didn’t come across any that weren’t passable.
bramhall lane and roundabout and getting to them from dairyground estate you have no chanve as it is pure ice and if i went in getting home at midnight wouldnt be much fun
Ian, as previously, which planet are you on? My journey home normally takes 15 mins. It took me 1 hour 10 mins. Along main road. (Bramhall Lane South, which Stepping Hill Hospital is on.)When I had to brake , my car went sideways, due to no grit, or as you call it “salt”.
What is going on? I honestly think that the council made a decision in the summer that cost savings had to be made. Obviously hoping it would not be snowing in December.
We have paid for these services in our rates. Can we please have a rebate? I can honestly say that in my 33 years of driving I have never driven in such treacherous conditions.
In closing my sisters mother-in-law is very poorly in Stepping hill Hospital. Because of the road conditions they are not able to visit her this evening. (On roads according to Stockport MBC which have priority on being gritted)
This is a disgrace and only confirms that our country is on the slippery slope to who knows where!
I would love your comments, either by this blog or your ‘twitter’
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Tell me who gets my vote in the new year? And why.
Tony,
You’re right that this is the worst snow we’ve seen in years and of course it’s causing problems across the whole country.
Whether Stockport should have done more is the question.
Yes, grit is salt and the purpose of gritting roads is to melt the snow/ice as traffic passes over it. That’s just how it works.
I can only offer my experiences as you’ve offered yours: I’ve been driving around the whole area over the last couple of days from Gatley to Bramhall, Heald Green to Stepping Hill. Of course I’ve been driving carefully, and I haven’t had problems slipping or skidding on main roads where the grit/salt plus passage of traffic has melted the snow and ice.
I didn’t drive along Bramhall Lane South, so I can’t comment on that particular road.
well hopefully something has been done today as i cannot afford another night off work!
Councillor Roberts is incorrect on the provision of grit bins. According to Stockport council this week, a number of residential grit bins were removed in the summer. I live near to junction of South Drive and Styal Road, South Drive has a short steepish incline down to Styal Road and the because of the narrowness of the latter there is no room for a skid no matter how small. There has been at least one small accident because the residents have been unable to salt/grit that section of South Drive. The salt/grit bin in place nearby has been removed. It was used at least once a winter, not frequently I admit, but once is enough to justify it’s presence, the residents can then take immediate action when necessary, as would have been the case last Sunday.
David – I’m aware that there’s no grit bin on South Drive/Nansen – I’ll be pressing the case to have it reinstated.
well i have tried to leave my house today and skidded on the ice thats all over the pavement and roads and the car went into the other side of the road(hopefully with no damage) getting it back onto the drive was a nightmare and it had to be moved as we were blocking the whole road, we then ended up walking to where we wanted to go with myself and my son falling several times. the roads and pavements around the dairyground estate are terrible and every person i have seen and spoken to are not happy at the lack of service from the council. Its all well and good if you dont have to goto work but not all of us can sit at home and having to push a buggy on the streets with a child also holding on is no fun!!!! even though we dont live on a hill we would also require a grit bin for this weather as then we may of had a chance in getting out.
I suspect the main roads have been gritted and have become reasonably clear, reasonably quickly. However, residential roads are untouched and the rain falling on compacted snow and then freezing again has become a lethal combination. I live on West Drive in Gatley and at least 3 vehicles have become stuck here, including a milk float. Drivers have slid rather than driven down the incline.
I appreciate that these are unusual conditions but the council must have a contingency plan for just these circumstances. Grit bins must be reinstated and additional funds found to grit side roads when these conditions exist. It is not a matter of cutting something else, the council must have some contingency monies and this is an occasion to use it.
The pavements in Gatley village have been dreadful, I’m sure the elderly have become housebound over the last week. AI Ironmongers are the only shop to scrape and grit their front. Could other shopkeepers be encouraged to do this too if the council provided a couple of bags of grit per shop?
Has anyone on the council considered what their response is going to be when / if the snow returns this week? The situation this week is totally unacceptable.
I’m just back from a drive around Gatley, including driving up the end of West Drive, so I’ve seen the problem. I’ve just been contacting the Council to see if we can get action to sort out the cul-de-sacs that are more or less the last roads still seriously affected by ice.
I do know the Council’s working flat out – at the moment Pam King and I (for Cheadle & Gatley) along with our fellow councillors elsewhere are working to help them direct their efforts as effectively as possible, espcially as more bad weather is forecast.
[…] Stockport’s been gritting over the weekend before Christmas […]
I have no doubt that gritters have been in action, even though I haven’t actually seen one. My concern is the lack of grit for side roads. I have been talking to friends and neighbours and the general view is that if grit were available then residents would have no problems in dealing with the problem themselves.
We could all help to protect our elderly neighbours and each other.
Grit bins sited on side roads would be less likely to be vandalised than on main roads.
Thanks for your hard work on this issue, please don’t forget about it once the milder weather returns.
I live on the Baxter Park estate – Halstead Grove corner. For most of the Christmas period the roads and pavement have been treacherous. On a daily basis I have seen minor collisions, and cars getting stuck in the ice.Many people have been reluctant to venture out after 24th when the snow turned to extremely thick and slippery ice.
On a positive note, it has resulted in people in the close working together to clear ice and snow, but despite best efforts this has still left most of the pavements and roads in a hazardous state for nearly a week.
I accept that gritting has a cost, financial and environmental. However, I was absolutely outraged to see a gritter outside my house on the morning of 30th December, griting selectively areas of pavement and road after the snow and ice had melted. I do not know whehter this was as a result of complaints from residents but sending a team of people,when there was nothing to grit was a real waste. Can the contractors not conctact their control to provide an update instead of spreading grit onto a pavement where there is not ice or snow? I would be interested to know how much this activity cost.
Providing grit for residents to use themselves would have been a more useful way of tackling the conditions.
Jane – you may need to blame me for the gritters. I went around on 28th December. There were a bunch of residential roads (not that many) that were clearly in need of gritting but wouldn’t be done as part of the normal routine and I asked for them to be done specially.
Baxter Park was one of those – and I was surprised how much snow and ice was still around there compared to elsewhere in Cheadle & Gatley.
I guess they came along on the 30th and perhaps you had less of a problem by then.
Gritting is still probably a good idea, though. Gritting is most effective when the roads are clear, before it gets icy. Then it can stop the ice forming in the first place. Since we’re concerned at the possibility of more cold weather, it may well have made sense to grit while they were there instead of driving off having done nothing.
I posted a comment on 29/12/09 that was published but now it seems to have been deleted for some reason ? my comments refered to the lack of gritting on the Larkhill road estate off Birdhall road, as it happens is right next to SK Solutions the people in charge of gritting our roads. as mentioned there are 2 blocks of old peoples flats, and many of the old people can not leave there flats due to the ice leading from the flats to the shops. i did mention that i had seen 2 old people fall on the ice and hurt themselves with one bleeding from a head wound. the weather reports did say more ice and snow for the newyear and my question was because i had seen older residents fall on the ice during xmas day and boxing day would the Larkhill estate be gritted before the new snow and ice fall to save more older residents getting hurt. well i know the answer to that question now because i have just driven through the estate and it is like an ice rink yet again. i know my original question was published because after doing so i copied/pasted to the stockport express website the same letter. if you can not answer questions you dont like i think you are in the wrong job. lets just see how long this stays up on your site ???
Dave – I’ve never deleted any comments from the site, certainly not yours. I don’t have any record of the comment being published, so I can only assume there was some technical glitch.
I live on silverdale road corner of kendal drive, whilst this last bout of cold weather silverdale has been gritted but before xmas it wasnt. My elderley mother who is disabled lives on Eskdale and the grit bin was removed in the summer. Eskdale is a cul de sac with a steep hill, normally the residents grit it but we have been unable to do this because the bin has been removed by the council. I have rang and asked for it to be put back. residents had to leave their cars at the bottom and delivery drivers couldnt deliver heavy items. my mother has not been able to go out neither has her neigbour who is partially blind, i normally grit their paths but have been unable to do this.i am not asking for the council to grit the side roads just put the bin back and provide the grit and then the neighbours which are not elderley which is only a few on eskdale will grit the hill and paths for everyone else.
Hi Heather, I’ve been up Eskdale a couple of times in the last few days and have spoken to the Council about it. I don’t know why the grit bin was removed, but it’s something Pam King and I are keen to look into.
There’s more information on this issue in a post I made a few days ago at:
http://iainroberts.mycouncillor.org.uk/2009/12/28/ice-in-stockport-now-we-need-to-tackle-the-cul-de-sacs/
[…] Stockport’s been gritting over the weekend before Christmas […]
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