Labour Councillors, who decided earlier in the year not to refill 170 salt bins across the City, have apparently now admitted that the decision was unwise.
They say that the bins will now be filled over the next 24 hours. Former Council Leader Andrew Waller had written on Monday to Cllr Leftie Levene, who is responsible for the chaos, saying that the bins should be filled before the worst of the freeze set in. Andrew had photographed and reported 20 empty bins in the Westfield area over the weekend.
Apparently the Council has also received dozens of complaints from residents this week about its poor “winter maintenance” policies and it was this pressure that led to the rethink.
Empty salt bin on Parker Avenue
It will be too little, too late in some areas like Parker Avenue where pensioners have been struggling on the steep incline there for the last few days.
Nor has Labour said how it will deal with those bins which are packed with rubbish.
Many bins have lost their lids meaning that salt seeps away (or congeals). Others have disappeared.
Difficult to think of a poorer set of decisions really. One has to go back as far as 1st January 2013, when the refuse bins weren’t emptied, to find anything comparable!
If your local salt bin needs refilling we recommend that you Email the Council with the details. ycc@york.gov.uk