North councillors voiced their concerns yesterday about asking residents to start gritting their own pavements – but others said a “change in culture” is needed.
Since October, the local authority has been encouraging communities to come forward and apply for winter resilience assistance from them that would provide residents with salt in grit bins and other equipment so they could take action locally.
But Inverness Ness-side councillor Ron MacWilliam said trying to get residents to fill out forms and rally volunteers to carry out a service previously done by the council was unrealistic.
He said: “It’s not the most appealing of prospects (for communities). We need a full strategic review of how pavement gritting is managed. Grit bins are about £350 per unit, bags of salt are too expensive and too heavy. We really need to be realistic. Grit dumping by a large vehicle on street corners needs to be communicated to the public.
“I am not aware of any attempt to compile a centralised register of volunteers. That would be preferable to leaving it to chance that some community leaders will take it forward and do it themselves.”
But Allan Henderson, chairman of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure (EDI)committee, said one volunteer in each area should easily be able co-ordinate several others to ensure salt is spread and yellow bins are stocked.
The debate on winter maintenance unfolded during yesterday’s meeting of the EDI in Inverness.
A separate report before councillors highlighted a projected £2 million overspend of the council’s winter budget – but the local authority said roads and pavements will continue to be treated.
Inverness Central councillor Janet Campbell said she has received several reports this winter that pavement tractors have not always been effective and that treatment has been sporadic.
In December, 91-year-old Walter Osborne died after slipping and falling on a pavement in Culduthel Road. He underwent a hip replacement at the city’s Raigmore Hospital but died of heart failure.
The committee agreed that a review of their winter maintenance policy should be undertaken.
After the meeting, Black Isle councillor Gordon Adam said there needs to be a “change in culture” and people need to understand they can no longer get the same level of gritting service because of restrictions on resources, requiring communities to take greater responsibility for looking after their own patch.
Mr Adam said that this approach works in Scandinavian countries because they take a lot of pride in localism – but he also said their councils are geographically much smaller.
