Gritting Fiasco As Council Services Fail

5.00.00pm GMT Mon 8th Feb 2010

Only 4x4s could use the bus route from Headley to Leatherhead

The County Council failed to grit regularly some of the most important roads in our area during the snow in December and January - whilst minor roads went without any gritting whatsoever.Throughout the area, grit bins have been left empty - with the County Council failing to fill their bins and the Mole Valley Housing Association also failing to fill the bins on their properties.

Throughout the area many key roads were left ungritted including the 516 bus route connecting Headley and Box Hill to Leatherhead (see picture); this meant that the villages had no public transport for a week. In Headley, residents had to help rescue an ambulance on an emergency visit. The village of Coldharbour was cut off and a fire engine responding to a call was left stuck in Knoll Road.

As well as roads blocked with snow, Mole Valley District Council failed to collect household rubbish, many schools were closed, and commuters faced severe difficulties in getting trains to work. After the snow, our roads have even worse potholes than before.

County Councillor Hazel Watson said, "The County Council significantly reduced its budget for winter maintenance this year as it sought to save money in the belief that global warming would result in higher all year round temperatures as opposed to, potentially, more extreme weather conditions throughout the year. The result - the County Council planned to use less grit this winter on our roads and when the grit was needed the County Council simply did not have it."

Liberal Democrat District Councillor Iain Murdoch added, "Both our Councils totally failed residents during the exceptional weather conditions. It is clear that both Councils need better leadership and to improve their emergency planning and the way they deal with such extreme conditions."