Preparation for Winter & Grit Bins

Tuesday, 26 October 2010 13:31

Winter is upon us! Click here for guidance on clearing snow outside your house.  There is further great news; Devon County Council has agreed to help us increase the number of grit bins in and around the village.

There will be no gritting by the County Council in the village. Gritting is limited to key roads only and for us that is the main A381 Newton Abbot to Totnes road. So we have to grit our own roads. There were already 12 grit bins in the village, but a recent consultation process in the village revealed that we needed a further 10 bins.

DCC agreed to fund and have provided several new grit bins and their contents, and we have been given the funding from Dennis Smith, our County Councillor  to purchased three more which have been installed. In all, we now have 21 grit bins around the village.

THIS IS A MAJOR achievement in the light of the funding problems that all local authorities are facing, and was in the context of a good deal of lobbying by the Parish Council via Teignbridge and by various people in DCC including Dennis Smith. It is also as a result of the village being able to demonstrate that it is well prepared for emergencies in having the plans, the knowledge and the people ready to respond in the event of any sort of natural emergency.

If you wish to see the report and the plans showing the locations of the existing bins, please click here.

Please remember - THE GRIT FROM THE GRIT BINS IS FOR PUBLIC HIGHWAY AND PATHS ONLY. If you need grit or salt for your own pathway and drive, please supply your own. It might be a good idea to stock up now. All the DIY stores supply bags of grit and staff normally are very helpful in loading them into your car.

It might also be worth noting that the Emergency Planning Committee have considered applying to the Parish Council for the purchase of a grit spreader. However, these only work if the grit/salt is perfectly dry. That would mean keeping our own supply in a dry atmosphere, and then transporting it to where it is needed. It was therefore felt that manual spreading from a wider range of Grit Bins would be a more trustworthy solution.

If you need to report a bin that needs repair or refilling, or if there is a requirement for a further grit bin, please contact the Parish Council or the Emergency Planning Committee.