Monday 11 January 2010

TO CLEAR OR NOT TO CLEAR...

Clearing show and ice on our pavements - or not - is a hot topic, and rightly so.

Many people have experienced the cold snap in an unpleasantly literal way - Dorchester Hospital has treated 86 broken wrists since the snow began to fall.
Two people stoppped me in the street yesterday to tell me that they had slipped and fallen on Shaftesbury lethally slippery pavements yesterday.
One man fell twice - and there were probably many more incidents through the day.

When it snowed last year, elderly residents in one of our sheltered housing complexes were all but trapped for three days - unable to safely get out of their front door.
As I'm Chairman of the local 50+ group, one of our members decided to ring me for help.
The Warden had been told by the Council & its contracted Housing Association that neither the road nor the path to the main entrance was a "priority".

So I rang the Housing Association at my members' request and had a bit of a skirmish.
The snow was cleared within two hours of the first 'phone call so that residents, their carers and visitors could come and go in safety.
This year, they kept it clear without being asked.

Local government & its contracted satellites have tied themselves into nonsensical knots.
This story shows that we need to persevere as individuals (and Councillors) in these cases and start to rebuild a culture of common sense and practical action.

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