(11-01-2010 06:42 PM)ruby_tuesday Wrote:  What annoys me is we all make an effort to clear our own paths and driveways but if we clear the pavement outside our own homes to ake it easier to get in and out and someone slips they can sue, but if we leave it covered in snow and ice then its an act of god and they cant!

That is an urban myth put about by those who don't like seeing their responsibilities being undertaken by others (council employees), and by killjoys who would prefer everyone sits at home in front of the playstation.
Oh, and lawyers too, trying to drum up business.

Yesterday in Whitchurch, a dozen residents obtained over a ton of sharp sand and distributed it along paths, footbridges, alleys, school routes and so on using trailers, wheelbarrows, buckets, and even a bicycle and trailer.
It was paid for by the local Town Mayor out of his allowance.

It was true community spirit coming to the fore. Let anyone try and sue!

See this thread on this Forum:
RESIDENTS CLEAR ICE

I think the funniest bit was when they met the broken down HCC gritter

Well said keepontriking. I hate the culture of worrying about being sued and using it as an excuse to do nothing. That thread from the Whitchurch forum is cool. Pity it is not like that in Basingstoke.

(11-01-2010 05:54 PM)Woody Wrote:  Drove 400 miles to Cheshire and back Friday - best day's travelling in a long time only to find that no-one had bothered grabbing a shovel anywhere on my street and abandoned their cars everywhere, including the end of my driveway. Thoroughly hacked off with that and ended up parking halfway up/down a hill covered in snow & ice - thanks a bunch!!

Complete lack of community spirit this time I'm afraid to say - seemed to be more "I'm alright, sod everyone else" - especially from those with a 4x4. We managed to clear the street yesterday and move everyone to where they needed to be - another 2 hours spent shovel in hand with maybe 5 neighbours who actually wanted to get to work again today.......

I'm trying hard not to fall into clearing my own driveway only - seems a bit un-neighbourly to me.

I had a similar experience to Woody. I have no hesitation to go out there and do something. My son and I spent several hours digging and the only neighbour to come out was an elderly man with a walking stick and we suggested he go back for his own safety. Then people from streets away parked in our usual parking spaces as we had cleared them and then double parked and parked us in.

(11-01-2010 09:42 AM)Chester Wrote:  

(10-01-2010 09:33 PM)Della Wrote:  On a less happy note, why on earth have the main roads around estates not been cleared? I can see why they could not mid-week when there was heavy snowfall and main roads had to be a priority but we have had 4 days of little snow so you would think that by now the council could clear the main estate roads so we could all get out and about. We pay our council tax and are not getting bins emptied or roads cleared.

How much resource do you think the local authorities have? People seem to think the council have a couple of hundred labourers twiddling their thumbs and a fleet of gritters / snow ploughs standing ready 11 months per year.

Yes you do pay your council tax but is that what you want it spent on? Or would you prefer their spending to be targetted to what we can reasonably expect to happen.....

Apparently once the main roads are clear the council's priority over the weekend was ensuring schools could open this morning. Which a lot of them have. Perhaps "clearing Della's road" was lower down their list of priorities.

I never said that my road should be cleared. My issue is that estates are built with a large main road with no houses on it so it belongs to nobody. I am happy to dig my road out (well until it became the favoured car-park of the whole estate as a result) but once I reach the main estate road, I expect that to be the responsibility of the council. It may not be a priority but there has been little falling snow for days yet the main roads through estates have not been treated at all and are deep in snow. Eventually it should be their turn for the gritters. Also bin men and parks and gardens contractors are supposed to be out hand-shovelling grit. Surely they could have been sent to the main roads on and off estates?

I am fed up with the attitude that we should do everything ourselves. When we do our bit, I expect it to be matched by the council but it is not being. Until the roads are cleared, we have no hope of having our bins emptied as the lorries can't get into the estates. Surely snow has stopped falling now and the major roads are already gritted so the gritters could come and get the main roads through estates moving again.

(11-01-2010 06:59 PM)keepontriking Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 06:42 PM)ruby_tuesday Wrote:  What annoys me is we all make an effort to clear our own paths and driveways but if we clear the pavement outside our own homes to ake it easier to get in and out and someone slips they can sue, but if we leave it covered in snow and ice then its an act of god and they cant!

That is an urban myth put about by those who don't like seeing their responsibilities being undertaken by others (council employees), and by killjoys who would prefer everyone sits at home in front of the playstation.
Oh, and lawyers too, trying to drum up business.

here's what the government said some years back:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3453039.stm

(11-01-2010 07:32 PM)bea stoker Wrote:  here's what the government said some years back:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3453039.stm

Ah, yes "the government". That proves it without a doubt.

Must be right then.
We'll see all those unworthy irresponsible Whitchurch residents and their wayward Mayor chained up and hauled before the Courts.

Damn those do-gooders. Off with their heads.

(11-01-2010 07:49 PM)keepontriking Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 07:32 PM)bea stoker Wrote:  here's what the government said some years back:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3453039.stm

Must be right then.
We'll see all those unworthy irresponsible Whitchurch residents and their wayward Mayor chained up and hauled before the Courts.

Damn those do-gooders. Off with their heads.

No no
March them in chains to Della Estate and work them till the roads and pavements are clean enough to eat off and every scrap of rubbish is removed
then orft with their heads

Looked again at the forum keepontriking linked to. £60-70 for a tonne of sand. There are over 70 houses in our whole street (not just our little bit) so that would be about £1 per house though I doubt if even half would be prepared to chip in. If we could get some down in the next couple of days, it would increase the likelihood of the dustcart venturing down the hill.

I might look into this. Wickes offer free delivery on orders over £45. I'll phone tomorrow and see if they are delivering, after all, it would be pointless to have it delivered once the snow has gone.

Good idea Della,
i would be willing to pay some money out if we could ALL pay, o.k i do know the one or two that do not have this sort of money. we have over 50 houses so it would be tops two pounds a head not bad, i would like to see more people think outside the box. no matter how little they can help it all counts.

(12-01-2010 12:19 AM)Della Wrote:  I might look into this. Wickes offer free delivery on orders over £45. I'll phone tomorrow and see if they are delivering, after all, it would be pointless to have it delivered once the snow has gone.

In Whitchurch a trailer was borrowed off a local trader.
You will need 'sharp sand' not the fine variety used in sandpits.

It is not pointless getting it if the snow has gone.
If the snow is disappearing (which it is) wait until you can obtain a salt/grit mix. Every contributor could then have a bucket or two ready for the next load of snow and ice - even if its next year. Being prepared is always better until waiting until it snows before getting the salt.

You could also look into getting a salt bin. Ask you local Councillor to get on the case.
See:
MORE SALT BINS

Modern estate design doesn't help - Beggarwood is essentially a single "main" road (Beggarwood Lane) with cul-de-sacs branching off it; Hatch Warren is the same. I'm not seeking someone to blame but I think that this contributes to the issues - it seems that many people throughout the UK had the problem of not being able to get to a main road. Once I get to the A30 it's all pretty much back to normal now and my journey is the same as usual.

The main roads are and should be the responsibility of the council to keep clear although I understand that Beggarwood has yet to be handed over. Side roads have to be kept clear otherwise people are either stuck or have to park on the main road - and if everyone on Beggarwood did that then it would be carnage. It's therefore sensible if everyone pitches in and does their bit - a few dozen people armed with shovels and some cat litter or sand could have cleared our road in less than a couple of hours, easily.

I pushed 6 cars out of my street last night including a police car and it was icing over was we did it. No-one else came out so I got my car to a sensible spot, locked it and went home to have a beer - I'll be damned if I'll break my back again when no-one else is prepared to do their bit.

Mind you, I could have heeded the Wife's advice and NOT tried to get to my drive

(06-01-2010 09:03 PM)basingstokeroyal Wrote:  Footpaths will never be done though and never have. Certainly not a borough council responsibility and i believe its dropped from county because labour intensive and very costly.

That is not entirely correct. The borough council does have a responsibility for town centre footpaths, paths around elderly and disabled accommodation, Worting Road cemetry and paths around the Leisure Park. Some councils have and do divert staff from other areas to help in gritting pavements - e.g street rubbish collectors and parks and grounds staff. Basingstoke Council could easily do this if it wanted to. To be fair though, they did utilise the bin men to grit paved areas by bus stops (this has certainly taken place in Popley).