Bristow's on a slippery slope over gritting claims

Jan 13 2010 By Dan Hodges

ANYONE who has slid and struggled their way through the icy streets of Hammersmith and Fulham over the last week might well agree with the feelings expressed by the council’s own resident services leader, Paul Bristow.

Addressing concerns about the lack of gritting on pavements and side streets in Middlesbrough, where he is standing as an MP, Mr Bristow lambasted the northern city’s Labour authority for its lack of action.

He stated: “We have had this icy spell for weeks and it seems our local authorities are still struggling to cope. I understand that they are under acute pressure but we hear the same excuses every year.

“What is needed is a comprehensive review of practice by each council to learn once and for all the lessons for dealing with bad weather.

“They should work together. Each local authority has a duty of care to local residents and should look carefully into what has gone wrong.”

Critics wondered whether a similar review might be needed in Conservative-led Hammersmith and Fulham, where many of the pavements and side streets remained covered in sheets of ice late last week.

But when the Chronicle put the question to Mr Bristow, he said he was unable to comment as gritting fell outside his realm of responsibility.

His colleague, street services leader Greg Smith, said Hammersmith and Fulham had hundreds of tonnes of grit in reserve and was comparatively well equipped when compared to other London boroughs which had run out, but had to focus on keeping main roads clear.

He said: “There’s a national context in that the salt mines are not producing salt in the quantities that councils are demanding.”