The names of the 5 Labour Councillors who voted on Monday to scrap most of the “self help” salt bins in the City have been published.

They include 3 Councillors who were parachuted in by the Labour Leadership to replace members who had refused to take part in the highly unpopular decision.

The five Councillors were:

• S Burton (Westfield) Substitute
• N McIlveen (Rawcliffe)
• R Potter (Heworth)
• J Riches (Holgate) Substitute
• N Barnes (Hull Road) Substitute

They endorsed the cuts which were originally proposed by Cllr Levene (Heslington)

The Council have now said that residents groups may “adopt a salt bin” if they feel that it serves a particular need in their area.

As the salt bins (which cost £300) to provide) already exist, the residents groups would “only” need to find around £50 a time to have each filled.

Contact the following Email address if you want to “adopt a salt bin” andy.binner@york.gov.uk

If it is a mild winter, then one fill might be enough.

Another alternative might be to use a private contractor to keep the bins filled.

We have mixed feeling about the scheme which could discriminate against deprived areas.

However it has the advantage of keeping the bins on the streets so that, after Labour inevitably lose control of the Council in 2015, normal winter maintenance services can be resumed quickly by the new Council.

These are the 15 salt bins in the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward that the Council propose to remove. They are:
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Labour have forced through plans to cut salt bins and gritting routes in York despite opposition from residents, community groups and local councillors.

Ann Reid with local salt bin

Earlier this month, Labour run City of York Council decided to cut two-thirds of salt bins and remove nearly 30 miles of roads from priority gritting routes, including on bus routes. Liberal Democrat Councillors Ann Reid, Nigel Ayre and Keith Aspden ‘called-in’ the decision for further review. However, at a special meeting of York’s Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee last night, Labour used their majority to push through the controversial proposals by 5 votes to 4.

At the meeting, the Lib Dems tabled an alternative set of plans which would have safeguarded salt bins at schools, elderly people’s homes, sheltered housing and community hubs such as local shops and libraries. It also said all bus routes should be on the priority gritting routes; community groups should be consulted before any salt bin is cut; and it called on the Labour Cabinet to review its decision to carry out an online only consultation on the cuts. These alternative plans were defeated by Labour.

Speaking at the meeting Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environmental Services, said Labour’s plans were “flawed” and “a substantial number of areas will be left without a regular gritting regime, leading to access problems for public transport and to schools in icy weather”.

She criticised the Labour Cabinet for prioritising schemes such as buying an Arts Barge over delivering frontline services, adding:

“It is a matter of priorities where budgets are spent. It is easy for the Labour administration to blame Government cuts; however, they are still able to find resources for pet projects while street level services like salt bins and gritting, which people pay their council tax for, are cut”.

The proposals have met with fierce opposition from local people with 1,000 residents signing a Lib Dem petition against the cuts. Meanwhile, Kingsway Area Residents’ Association recently said that the plans could see elderly and disabled people trapped in their homes this winter.

It expected that salt bins will start to be removed from the streets of York in the next couple of weeks.

Details of the meeting and decision can be found here: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=602&MId=7815

The Lib Dem proposal, tabled by Cllr Carol Runciman and defeated 5 votes to 4, was as follows:

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Leaking salt bin

Liberal Democrats have called on Labour to rethink plans that would see two-thirds of salt bins in York lost and gritting routes across the city cut.

The decision to cut the winter maintenance service was taken by Labour’s Cabinet Member for Environmental Services on Wednesday despite the opposition of local residents and concerns over the online only public consultation.

Lib Dem Councillors Ann Reid, Nigel Ayre and Keith Aspden have ‘called-in’ the decision for further review and the proposals are now set to be reconsidered at a special meeting of York’s Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee later this month.

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Labour have agreed to slash the amount of road and footpath de-icing which will take place this winter.

Several hundred objections from residents were over-ruled today by Councillor Levene who was first elected in only 2011 and who made no attempt to address the many concerns that had been raised.

Levene

Nearly 2/3 of the salt bins, put on the streets at the request of residents, will be scrapped.

Many roads – including those that are bus routes – will not now be routinely pre-salted.

The Council is being reckless with the safety of residents and is gambling that we will have a mild winter.

A repeat of the severe weather seen in 2009 and 20010 could bring parts of the City to a halt.

The implications for elderly and disabled residents are even more alarming.

When salt bins are removed from vital streets like Front Street, there is a real danger that many will be trapped in their homes …potentially for days or even weeks.

This is a shortsighted decision which Labour will come to regret.

The decision will be called in by Liberal Democrat Councillors who will refer the matter to an all party review committee.

We will let you know when the meeting is arranged.