As a wheelchair user who lives on a private drive in a rural part of the midlands I have this morning been left trapped in doors because it is not safe for me to venture outside.
The drive does not have a grit bin because our local authority removed it from the drive many years ago because it was continually being vandalised by those using the drive a cut though to the neighbouring estate.
In 2019 I spoke to ITV News Central about this very issue and called for Herefordshire Council to add the gritting of the pavement network in to their winter operations plan and they naturally refused this request.
In a statement given to ITV News Central at the time they said, “We have gritted all primary and secondary routes today, as well as key cycleways, high footfall areas and council carparks. We continue to monitor the situation and have crews on standby 24/7 to ensure our highways network remains as safe as possible”.
They continued by adding ” it is not possible to grit all roads and footpaths across Herefordshire as part of our winter service operations”.
Herefordshire Council should be gritting the pavements which run alongside primary routes into the city and beyond, this will help those who are most vulnerable to stay safe if it is absolutely necessary for them to venture outdoors.
If you live around any elderly neighbours or relatives I would urge you to check in on them regularly during this winter weather episode as they may not be able to get access to food etc independently.
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Stay safe out there if you have to go outside
Cam
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