Apology needed for non gritting (Watford Liberal Democrats)

Watford Liberal Democrats <info@watfordlibdems.org.uk>

Apology needed for non gritting

December 22, 2009 10:48 AM

Tory-run Herts County Council has been called upon to apologies over its failure to grit roads it promised to do according to a Watford County Councillor.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, who is the Liberal Democrat member for Central Watford and Oxhey, finally got Herts County Council to own up on Monday that it had failed to grit at least 8 roads in his county division.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst who is the Liberal Democrat opposition spokesman on Highways called the failure a "total disgrace" and demanded apology from the county council after it left hundreds of residents stuck in their homes over the weekend.

"I find it hard to believe that my county division was the only affected in this way. County Councillors had assurances on Friday that all the roads on the county gritting list, which is less than half of all roads in the county, were done. But I have since found out, and the county has

owned up to this. this is not the case. They just forgot some roads and it's not as if they then cleared other side roads instead!"

The roads that were not gritted but should have been were:

Radlett Road (from Orphanage Road to Queens Road) - isolating residents in Shaftesbury Road ,

Ebrury Road and Ottoman Terrace,

Gladstone Road,

Stanley Road

Grosvenor Road,

Upper Paddock Road ,

Lower Paddock Road ,

Oxhey Avenue

Field Road

The county council has admitted it forget about Upper and Lower Paddock Roads, even though they are in its web site to be done and had not foreseen the large account of snow that fell in Radlett Road , whilst in the Gladstone Road area it blamed parked cars that prevented access.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst said, "These excuses are feeble. Whilst they might not have been able to do these roads on Friday with no heavy day time snow on Saturday or Sunday they should and could have done them. The fact they seem to have waited until I and residents complained on Monday before doing anything. It's a disgrace. The county seems to failed to learn from its failures in February."

The councillors comments were echoed by local residents.

Di Lewis of Stanley Road said , "We sat in our front room listening to wheels spinning and cars sliding, waiting for the bang as they nearly slam into parked cars. We watched cars sliding from Stanley into Gladstone Road and others attempting to drive into Stanley from Gladstone, because of the incline wheels were spinning and engines revving."

David Begley of Oxhey Avenue said, "I want to express my disgust and anger at the fact that my local street Oxhey Avenue has not been gritted at all while we have had the snow."

Liberal Democrat councillors have already demanded more gritting on non priority routes and want a rethink of the gritting policy of Conservative run Herts County Council.

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said , "With over 70% of the council tax residents pay going to the county council residents have to right to expect their being to gritted yet the county council cannot even do all the roads they said they would."