I know, it’s a shocker. I hope this weather improves soon, I’m getting just as bored of writing about gritters (or lack of) as you are of reading about them.
I mentioned yesterday that the Council had run out of grit and this was today confirmed by the Gasjet, with a full smattering of short-term, backward-thinking excuses from the Council once again.
“We’ve been ordering grit every day, but our supply has been getting very short.”
Order more?
“To grit Blackpool for snow we would need to use around 100 tonnes but the order we received yesterday was 20 tonnes.”
Order more?
Come on, the snowfall and icy temperatures didn’t take anyone by surprise. We get it every year. We’ve had this spell for going on three weeks now yet I’ve still not seen a salt bin, I’ve only seen one gritter (and it wasn’t gritting), I have had some fun sliding around in my car on what are supposedly main roads and I’ve had some cartoon banana-skin moments walking along icy pavements that weren’t gritted.
Following the pre-Christmas snow the Council did go on gritter overdrive and the roads were improved remarkably, yet once again they’ve failed to take the proactive decision to keep the roads clear, instead choosing to let them freeze over again before sending the gritters out. This is an outright failure to provide a proper service for ratepayers – all because of cost-cutting. No salt bins were provided, meaning that pavements remained highly dangerous everywhere. Roads were gritted in a somewhat ad-hoc manner, meaning one road would be gritted heavily one day and ignored the next.
We pay council tax to be safe in the knowledge that it’s funding gritters, salt stocks and so on. But as ever we’re swamped with council cuts as the jobs for the boys increase. How many tons of grit would former copper and now “Street Gang” (or whatever stupid in-with-the-kids name they come up with for the latest “get ASBO kids off the streets” initiative) boss Russ Weaver’s non-job have paid for? How many tons of grit would Sir Howard Bernstein’s 25 grand a year for 1 day a week have paid for? How many tons would the salary of useless policeman Richard Debicki (under whom violent crime has thrived) have paid for?
You can work it out. As Not Quite Hayek mentioned yesterday, an independent councillor in Wigan bought his own gritting trailer for £1000 and 28 tonnes of rock salt for £1500 out of councillor expenses. Therefore at £54 per tonne, Russ Weaver’s salary would have paid for almost 2000 tonnes. Helen France’s salary would have paid for almost 2500 tonnes. This is the context you have to look at. No I don’t expect them to have 2000 tonnes of rock salt in stock just in case, but clearly in this scenario they neither had enough gritters nor enough salt for the sake of pocket money compared to the salary of just one council executive. Even the expenses Peter Callow gets in one year would have paid for 370 tonnes.
In fact if they sacked all these people and spent the saving on rock salt, we’d have more salt than Salt Lake City.
It says in the Gasjet article that LCC only cover Fylde and Wyre. Presumably Blackpool is responsible for it’s own gritting, then?
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I believe that you’ve yet to use the headline “In The Grit”!
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This might sound a bit, y’know, ‘revolutionary’, but…
… has sand off the beach been considered?
The council already mix rock salt with builders’ sand (which has a red dye in it, which stains carpets).
It won’t melt the snow, but it might offer a bit more traction against using nothing at all.
“Is it legal?” Who gives a shit?
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Fix’d
” “Is it legal?” Who gives a grit? “
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Haha, that’s the spirit!
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I laughed at that through gritted teeth!
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I got stuck on Deneway Ave on my way home last night. I tried to get my little 1.0 Micra up the hill and it just stopped then when I put it in reverse it just slid down even with my foot on the brake. So I to reverse onto Ingleway Ave where I got stuck in the middle of the junction but luckily managed to manouever it out. The roads are an absolute nightmare.
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The story of the day has to be this one:
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/latest-national-news/Man-with-genitals-in-pipe.5964408.jp
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Got to love the picture they used
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Why not get the unemployed out to clear the streets with shovels, it would save the need for grit?
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Great idea I like it
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No doubt it would be against their Human Rights to clear roads and paths, just like doing and kind of work is.
Sure there will be some rule against it.
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why not use non violent prisoners as well,this govt is fuckin useless, this weather has exposed serious deficincies in how people and resources have been managed.
fuck their human rights, we have a crisis to deal with and an energy crisis, thanks to ZANULIEBOUR who are scum, scum and yes scum!!!
rant over, lol
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I understand the prisoners at Kirkham have been out in Kirkham itself gritting pavements (though one of those pictured in the LSA Express looked like munch from two pints). I think it’s a great idea that the prisoners keep doing these projects. When you hear of Kirkham prison I associate it with several things they’d done in the town that are good rather than just crime so it must be easier for them when they are released to get work and settle back into the community.
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Bring back the chain gang!!
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Speaking of useless policemen…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6957682/Myleene-Klass-warned-by-police-after-scaring-off-intruders-with-knife.html
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