Aberdeenshire Council is refusing to give people living on an Inverurie street their own grit bin — because the road is “too flat”.
Residents of Martin Brae in Inverurie say they have been asking for the local authority to supply them with their own gritting bin for years so they can deal with icy conditions themselves.
One resident says that in periods of colder weather, the road and pavements get so slippery that they feel like “Bambi on ice”, and concerns have been raised for pensioners living in the area.
But despite their requests for the council to give them their own grit bin, the local authority has told those living on the street that the “gradient is too flat to require a grit bin at said location”.
‘The excuse that the road is too flat is just laughable’
Carol Lovie who has a house on Martin Brae said her family has been “requesting a grit bin ever since we moved in to the street”.
She says that “heaps of streets surrounding us have their own grit bins, apart from ours.”
Carol continued: “We’ve got a lot of elderly, disabled residents, and it’s also a street used to go to Kellands school, so there’s lots of young kids and parents who use the street on a regular basis.
“We’re just sick of being Bambi on ice, really.
“As residents, we understand it’s not a public road as such, it’s not a major road — but it does get really, really slippery.
“The excuse that the road is too flat is just laughable.”
Situation an ‘absolute nightmare’
Carol’s neighbour Claire McIntosh said she’s been asking the council for a grit bin for Martin Brae for six years.
Claire said: “The situation is an absolute nightmare.
“There’s folk in wheelchairs on our street, folk who are disabled, but still we get no grit bin.
“We’ve asked every single year, and it’s always no.
“I think it’s ridiculous because a lot of the old people on my street can’t get out and get their shopping done, and the kids are falling down when it’s icy.
“Even a pile of salt would be fine. But it’s been six years we’ve been asking now, and it’s just becoming beyond a joke.”
Council gives ‘careful consideration’ when deciding who gets grit bins
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council explained the local authority gives “careful consideration” when it decides what streets and households get grit bins in the region.
He explained that for every new grit bin the council distributes, it creates additional pressures on the local authority to make sure there’s enough salt and grit available.
He said: “Grit bins in urban areas offer a self-help option for those members of the public who are prepared and able to carry out the work.
“However, the number of grit bins being made available needs to be controlled, as maintaining adequate salt and grit levels in an overprovision of bins results in operational burden.”
But what about the council’s excuse that Martin Brae in Inverurie is “too flat”?
The spokesman explained: “For urban areas, grit bins are provided on roads with a gradient of between 5% and 10%, as long as there is no other grit bin within a 200-metre walking distance.
“At its steepest, Martin Brae is still below the 5% threshold, in addition to having other grit bins available within 200 metres.”
He said that grit bins are allowed to be used by residents of neighbouring streets, even if the bin isn’t on their street in particular.
