Bingley is better prepared for cold weather, thanks to Bingley Town Council investment and collaboration with Bradford District Council.
The parish now has more grit bins and more roads listed as official gritting routes as a result of a project led by Cllr Sara Hardman, a ward councillor for Crossflatts & Micklethwaite.
The initiative involved mapping every grit bin in the parish which covers Bingley, Crossflatts, Eldwick, Gilstead, Cottingley and Micklethwaite. With the help of other town councillors, Cllr Hardman identified areas most in need of new or replacement grit bins and also pinpointed key routes used by public transport that also required gritting in freezing conditions.
Cllr Hardman said: “The Town Council has responded to residents’ concerns following last year’s cold spell and, in particular, hazardous conditions on Lady Lane.
“The whole gritting project has been time-consuming but very worthwhile. I’ve been helped by many of my town council colleagues and now Bingley should be better able to respond to any icy conditions and ensure our roads and footpaths are safer for everyone.”
The results of the detailed survey and discussions with Bradford Council led to the district authority replacing or repairing nine bins and providing four new bins on Oakwood Drive, Pendle Road, Timble Drive and Primrose Bank. Bingley Town Council has spent a further £400 on new bins on Belgrave Road, Bailey Hills, Falcon Road and Birchdale. In addition, Lady Lane, Crownest Road and Marley View will now be included on Bradford Council’s gritting routes.
The council will monitor the situation over the winter and anyone with questions or concerns should contact the Town Clerk at enquiries@bingleytowncouncil.gov.uk
What happened yesterday then!
Hello Mr Goodinson.
This is earlier information from Cllr Hardman about gritting and winter weather in relation to the extreme weather conditions last week.
Last Friday was exceptional and unusual circumstances. We had a relatively warm evening where it rained, and then a sudden drop in temperature which froze the surface water, leading to lethal black ice everywhere. This caused a problem in the East part of Bradford Council’s area, mainly Bingley and Ilkley, but not a problem in other areas where the surface water had not frozen. Black ice, such as we experienced today, thankfully does not occur that often.
Bradford Council are responsible for both road and pavement gritting. Roads are gritted on main routes, near hospitals, doctors and schools, on main bus routes and in areas where there are known problems coupled with a large amount of population needing to access that route. An example of this is the main circular route through Swan Avenue which is above the snowline and experiences more problems than down in the centre of town.
Pavements are gritted to a lesser extent but still on the main route through the centre of town from Crossflatts to Cottingley, up Park Road to Sheriff Lane in Eldwick, along Warren Lane to Gilstead and down into town. Priesthorpe Road to Fernbank Drive is also pavement gritted.
However, Bingley Town Council (led by Cllr Hardman) have reviewed both the road and pavement routes, as well as the location of grit bins. We requested several roads to be added to the priority gritting routes, within Bradford Council’s guidelines above. The majority of these extra routes were granted.
For all other areas, not coming within the guidelines, we examined the location of grit bins to ascertain if we needed additional bins. As a result, 8 new bins have been located in Bingley. These were allocated on a priority basis and considered a variety of factors such as proximity to main road, number of residents it would help, steepness of the hill, distance to nearest grit bin and number of previous reports of problems there. Whilst we would love to have every street gritted or a grit bin located nearby, this is just not financially viable. Further grit bins may be purchased for Winter 2018/19 if we feel there is a strong case.
All grit bins have been checked and should be full. If you notice a grit bin in need of refilling, please either contact Bradford Council on 01274 431000, or if it is a grit bin with a Bingley Town Council sticker on, please email townclerk@bingleytowncouncil.gov.uk
Help required please. I am a resident of Old Main Street.
From the White Horse Inn to Church House has never been gritted in the 14 years we have lived here. A short stretch of cobbled road and a narrow footpath. Hundreds use the White Horse. Hundreds use All Saints Church. Many use Liberties and The Factory Shop.
The gritter cannot serve this short stretch because of the restricted road width. I have written asking if the small Kabitas vehicle ( it rides on the footpath) that serves/delivers grit to Bingley’s Main Street and Millgate could grit this short stretch of footpath and narrow road. I have had no response from the Parks Dept who are responsible for this vehicle. If we cannot have grit delivered then a grit box sited outside All Saints Church on The Old Main Street footpath opposite number 72 would be fantastic. We could grit it ourselves. Any help much appreciated ( fed up of writing to Bradford Council). Kind regards keep up the good work.
Dear Dave,
A reply has been sent to your e-mail address.
Kind regards
Ruth Batterley
Town Clerk
i WONDER IF THE TOWN COUNCIL WOULD PROVIDE A GRITTER BOX AT THE BOTTOM OF HARRIS STREET, BINGLEY WHICH WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THE RESIDENTS WHO LIVE THERE. WHEN THERE IS SNOW AND ICE, IT IS DIFFICULT TO REACH LEONARD’S PLACE BECAUSE OF THE SLOPE INVOLVED WHICH FACES THE NORTH WIND. NO DOUBT THE SMALL BUSINESSES AT THE BOTTOM OF HARRIS STREET WOULD BENEFIT TOO.
Hello Anthony,
I’ve passed your comments on to the Councillor with responsible for grit bins and will let you know her response.
Best wishes,
Laura
Administrative Officer
Good morning Anthony,
Here is the response about grit bins, The Town Council ran a pilot scheme for grit bins last winter and the scheme will be reviewed in late summer this year to see if any further grit bins will be installed. Bingley Town Council have received numerous requests, so it is quite possible that we may be purchasing additional grit bins. However, these will be assessed on a priority basis. One of the considerations is the number of premises/houses that would use the grit bin. It is unlikely that streets with less than 20 premises would be considered.
Best wishes,
Laura
Administrative Officer
We have a small (dustbin shape) grit bin at the top of Villa Grove, which, for the past few years has not been refilled. There is a larger yellow bin at the bottom of the grove but due to the steepness of our grove getting down the hill in snowy or icy conditions can be dangerous. Could the bin at the top be refilled each winter?
Hi Grahame,
Thanks for getting in touch, I will send you an email requesting a bit more information.
Kind regards,
Laura (Administrative Officer to Bingley Town Council)