Labour maintains its near 50% cut to York’s salt bin provision after Lib Dem attempts to halt the plans failed last night.

Under Labour’s plans 170 salt bins across the city will not be refilled this winter. The bins, previously funded through City of York Council’s ward committee system, will be left on the streets but without salt pending a future review of winter maintenance. 199 bins financed from the Highways Budget will still be provided along with a few from Parish Councils and Resident Associations.

Liberal Democrat Councillors Ann Reid, Keith Aspden and Nigel Ayre ‘called-in’ the decision for further review. But last night the Council’s Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee decided to stick with the original decision. The Committee, on which Labour holds a majority, voted to support the cuts by 5 to 3.

At the meeting Cllr David Levene, Labour Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said that the Ward Committee bins were counted as a “nice to have” rather than a “must have” so they were chopped as part of the Cabinet’s spending plans. The empty bins will only be filled with salt in times of ‘extreme weather’. Lib Dems have questioned this process and argue that the weather might be bad enough to mean salt is needed, but not bad enough to qualify as ‘extreme weather’.

It was confirmed at the meeting that the decision on which bins to cut was based purely on how the bins are funded and not on the provision in the local area – meaning that some areas will be particularly hit such as Foxwood which will lose all its bins and Heworth Without which will lose 9 out of 11 bins.

Salt bins that WILL NOT be filled list click this link http://stevegalloway.mycouncillor.org.uk/2012/10/11/salt-bins-in-york-not-being-filled-%e2%80%93-the-full-list/

Salt Bins that WILL be filled list http://stevegalloway.mycouncillor.org.uk/2012/10/08/list-of-salt-bins-in-york-that-won%e2%80%99t-be-filled-this-winter-%e2%80%93-westfield-area/

Councillor Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environmental Services, commented at the meeting:

“I have grave concerns about the impact of the loss of this basic service. The cut to salt bin provision is a direct result of Labour’s ill-conceived and hastily implemented changes to Ward Committee budgets. The very fact that in my Ward residents have chosen to fund 28 bins is a measure of how they are valued in the community”.

“The plans would see overall salt bin provision in York fall from around 369 full bins to around 199. In a bad winter this cut will have a significant and detrimental impact. Yet again this Labour Cabinet is making decisions on basic service provision behind closed doors with minimal consultation. Labour have not consulted Residents Associations or even Ward Councillors.”

Cllr Ann Reid also said that Labour’s plans went back on a promise that Councillor Sonja Crisp made in March when she said “all the salt bins required across all the Wards will be refilled from the core budget”.

Doubts were also raised about Labour’s plan to fill certain bins in ‘extreme weather conditions’. Cllr Reid said:

“Who will decide what is extreme and when bins will be filled? Will that be when snow is forecast or after snow has been on the ground for a number of days? Who will decide what is “exceptional”? Filling the bins is time consuming and chances are that by time you have done it the worse will be over and the falls and injuries will have taken place.”

Well fancy that

• Cllr Nigel Ayre, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Heworth Without, asked the Labour Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion, Cllr Sonja Crisp at March’s Full Council:

“Will the Cabinet Member confirm that all salt bins currently funded by Ward Committees will now be filled and refilled from the core budget?”

Cllr Crisp answered:

“Certainly, all the salt bins required across all wards will be refilled from the core budget”.