Thursday 2 December 2010

Welsh Councils: really raising the bar

Here's a bit of useful background info if you're undecided how to vote in this week's Fun Online Poll.

Grit supplies are "disappearing fast" in the wintry weather, councils across Wales have warned. Three councils, Powys, Carmarthenshire and Caerphilly, have used at least a quarter of their stock, while across Wales 15% of the salt supply has gone.

Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) spokesman John Davies said: "If this weather persists it is going to be very difficult to keep supplies going." Councils have been given an extra £7m for pothole repair and gritting.

The WLGA is also trying to source 12,000 tonnes of rock salt from Sweden by the end of the month. Mr Davies told BBC Wales: "We have enough grit at the moment, but it is disappearing fast. The effects of last winter are plain to see, and every county has suffered. These are extreme conditions but they've come early."

He said councils in the Wales and England were competing for road salt supplies from the same sources. Welsh councils can use 12,000 tonnes of road salt on the roads in 24 hours, while salt mines could only provide the UK with up to 6,000 tonnes in the same period, he said.

13 comments:

Witterings from Witney said...

"The effects of last winter are plain to see"

Do we take it then that they did not order replacement stock?

Mark Wadsworth said...

WFW, that's how I understood it. It's a bit like a local council in Finland saying that after a few centuries of snow, they've finally run out of salt and grit.

Lola said...

I am thinking salt mines / unemployed. Shortage of road salt and slow production from salt mines, but there are lots of unemployed. There's something here but I can't quite put my finger on it...

James Higham said...

Yes. Lola appears to have it here.

Mark Wadsworth said...

L, the answer is easy. Ship in a load of Afghans or East Europeans to shovel the salt, and give all the unemployed British people jobs helping them 'integrate into the community'.

JH, were you thinking what I was thinking?

dearieme said...

Couldn't you just slip an unemployed person under your tyre if it's not gripping?

dearieme said...

Hold on: typing error. Of course I didn't mean "unemployed person", I meant "Local Government Employee".

dearieme said...

Which means "grossly underemployed person".

Mark Wadsworth said...

D, we'll have to see what Lola says, but that is a splendid plan. Instead of a man walking in front of the car with a red flag, they could employ people to push cars through the slippy bits, up hills and so on.

Anonymous said...

Do we take it then that they did not order replacement stock?

Probably, the Welsh Assembly was too busy throwing £50 million at recycling to waste it on something as stupid as salt!
I had hoped that food waste collections would be so important that every road would be gritted to ensure this vital service worked. However, it looks like we rate payers will be abandoned to the elements (with our bins of rotting food)again this year. Funny how they can always get their bills to my letter box.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Anon, fret yet not. By next winter, The Welsh Assembly will have introduced a tax on plastic bags, so they'll have all the money they need to spend on salt and grit. Or something.

banned said...

Happily my local (City) authority are only responsible for gritting pavements and this they did jolly well earlier in the year and seem to be doing so this time also. Roads are down to County but I have yet to venture into the countryside.
Less happily 'they' have failed to repair most of last winters potholes though they have troubled themselves to repair and enhance the traffic calming speed bumps on our largest 'troubled' housing estate for which the residents are probably deeply thankful.

Bayard said...

b, that's because potholes are free traffic calming.