Questions at Any Time to Cabinet Portfolio Holders

This was a question-and-answer session with Cabinet portfolio holders. One item was recorded: Councillor Jeremy Brignell-Thorp asked about grit bins on the new Community Gritting Routes. The Cabinet Member replied in writing. The minute records no decision.

1. Grit bins on Community Treatment Routes in Forden and Montgomery

   Decided

   The minutes record no decision on this item.

   Why

   Councillor Brignell-Thorp said residents were worried that Community Gritting Routes have few or no grit bins and will not be gritted regularly. The Cabinet Member said the review funded 100 extra bins, at about £12,000 for the bins and about £28,000 to install them. She said the Forden to Caerhowell route has no salt bins but was not in the winter network before, and it is now in the Community Treatment Network. She said it is not practical to put bins along the whole length of every route. The Council will monitor the arrangements, and residents can ask for a bin through the Report a Problem service, with each request assessed against set criteria and available resources.

   Based on the minutes

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1. 1

   Question from: County Councillor Jeremy Brignell-Thorp Subject: Gritting routes and grit bins

   Minute

   Response by the Cabinet Member: Thank you, Councillor Brignell-Thorp, for your question regarding the provision of grit bins on the Community Treatment Routes in the Forden and Montgomery ward. With regard to the provision of grit bins, the review included provision for 100 additional bins at an estimated cost of approximately £12,000, together with approximately £28,000 for installation across the county. These bins are intended to support locations where additional winter resilience is considered necessary. In determining where to locate the new grit bins, priority has been given to roads that formed part of the previous primary treatment network but are not included within the 2026/27 precautionary treatment network. Local highway inspectors have assessed these roads to determine where additional grit bins would provide the greatest benefit, taking into account factors such as safety and risk, strategic importance, accessibility, practicality, demand and wider community benefit. With regard to the Forden and Montgomery ward, it is noted that the largest section of Community Treatment Route runs from Forden to Caerhowell. While there are currently no salt bins located along this section of route, the route was not previously included within the Council's winter treatment network. Following the review, it has now been included within the Community Treatment Network and therefore benefits from an increased level of winter service provision. Community Treatment Routes remain part of the Council's winter service network and may be treated during prolonged, severe or particularly disruptive winter weather conditions. Given the scale of the highway network, it is neither practical nor feasible to provide salt bins along the full length of every Community Treatment Route. Instead, additional bins have been targeted at locations where local assessment identified the greatest operational and community benefit. The Council will monitor the operation of the revised winter service arrangements and consider any further requirements identified through operational experience and feedback received during the winter season. If you, or any of your residents, consider that a particular location may require a salt bin, a request can be submitted to the Council for consideration via the Report a Problem with Salt Bins, Gritting or Footways service. However, all requests will need to be assessed against operational criteria and available resources. Kind Regards

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