Free Municipal Skating Rink Opens in Charlbury!

Wed 6 Jan 2010, 18:36

You can consider Charlbury to be like Sweden then. When I lived in Uppsala I lived at the top of a steep hill (think Banbury Hill in terms of gradient and length) and the local supermarket, PO and pharmacy were at the bottom. They didn't salt the path, so it turned into an ice rink, but did the old people complain? Nope, they walked up and down it like everyone else. Certainly the Swedes are very good at keeping roads, cycle paths and pavements clear in town centres, but outlying communities are not necessarily kept the same way, and you don't hear the Swedes whinging.

Wed 6 Jan 2010, 08:15

From a report on the BBC Oxford website:

Oxfordshire County Council has slashed the amount of roads it will grit despite the severity of the snowfall.

It blamed "increasing restrictions upon national supplies of salt to local authorities" for only gritting 29% of roads instead of its usual 43%.

A spokesman claimed the salt supplier to councils across the country does not consider Oxfordshire to be a priority.

Meanwhile, councillor Rodney Rose, Oxfordshire's cabinet member for Transport, said: "Our highways teams have worked hard to cover 43% of the network since the cold snap started in mid-December and there is nothing we would like more than to continue with that.

"While we are continuing to grit a large number of roads we will be gritting less routes until further notice and there will be no grit for salt bins and pavements. "

Wed 23 Dec 2009, 16:58

There is no contradiction between being responsible for your curtilage stretch and a public agency being responsible for those areas which don't fall neatly into the domain of any property owner. In fact it makes it possible for a public body to actually achieve clearance of those areas that are public highway and sidewalks - as was the case in Canada where the experience of slipping and sliding would last only a short period of time after a snowfall (and we got on average 100 inches each winter there, and this was by no means a severe climate area.)

Wed 23 Dec 2009, 11:36

It's a nice idea Malcolm (and I admire your public-spiritedness) but I don't think it would work with the worst-affected areas of Charlbury. For example, when I crashed to the ground on Sunday I was in front of a row of garages, with no houses abutting onto that particular stretch of road. Also, the stretch of pavement between the station drive and the river (which was treacherous in February and is likewise now) would also be no-one's responsibility under your scheme as it adjoins a field. A number of returning rail passengers were slipping and sliding on it last night. Some of us, myself included, chose to walk in the road instead (not very safe!), only to find it coated with a thin sheen of hazardous ice.

No, I think a far more effective solution would be for some public body (be it national or local) to take responsibility for clearing pavements and making them safe to walk on. I am pleased to see that several charities are also now calling for this to happen.

Tue 22 Dec 2009, 23:12

A simple Canadian solution is to make each stretch of pavement outside your house YOUR responsibility for clearing of snow and ice. And it provided a useful supplement to the pocket money of us white trash kids from the wrong side of the tracks to say "clear your sidewalk for a dime missus"!

Tue 22 Dec 2009, 19:46

If Susie is correct and grit bins are only supposed to be located on main roads then the current siting of such bins in Charlbury is illogical. The bin nearest my house (halfway up Dancers Hill) is less than 100 m away. According to my OS map, Dancers Hill is a C-road and it is not exactly a throbbing arterial route at any time of day. Should the Town Council not therefore write to OCC and ask for this bin to be removed as it clearly contravenes OCC's own policy? And anyway, as Jon says, who at OCC has in-depth knowledge of ice formation on the minor roads of Charlbury?

I think I will write to David Cameron about this issue after Christmas. I am sure that in the lead-up to a General Election he would love to pose for a photo in the snow beside a shiny new grit bin in Charlbury with his arm around some frail old woman with brittle bones who has been spared a lengthy period of hospitalization thanks to his timely intervention!

Tue 22 Dec 2009, 15:16

I'm still waiting to hear from our county councillor.

Meanwhile I've had the following helpful email from Roger Clarke, which he agreed I could post here:

"The Town Council did ask OCC to provide 12 additional bins and this included the sites you mention along with others. They have looked at their policy and have agreed to bins at Ticknell Piece Rd., Woodfield Drive (Hixet Wood end) and Hughes Close entrance. The TC have agreed to fund these and have sought reconsideration of sites at Fiveways and Pooles Lane. The decision is ultimately that of OCC but the TC will continue to press for more. I am awaiting a reply as to why the bins are not in place. As a matter of fact these were ordered in November following agreement at that meeting of TC."

What intrigues me is that the County Council can actually block the siting of bins, in defiance of local need and local knowledge. Who, exactly, at County Hall is saying that the bin at one end of Fishers Lane is OK, but a bin at the Pooles Lane end is not? Who decides that a bin at the top end of Hixet Wood is OK, on the comparative level, whereas a bin on the steep stretch of Hixet Wood -- where pedestrians share with cars -- is not? And they are not even going to pay for them: we do that.

Let's hope our county councillor replies soon.

Tue 22 Dec 2009, 09:47

To answer Derek's post, I am sorry that you slipped over, however the Town Council had asked for a number of salt bins. We were told however that we could not have the number we requested, as salt bins were only allowed on main routes. More information on who is responsible for gritting the roads and the priorities can be found at here

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 19:06

I was able to collect some salt from a bin yesterday and sprinkled it in Wychwood Paddocks. The effect was transient; this morning at 6.20 on my walk to the station, the salted parts of the pavement (I was more concerned about pedestrians) had frozen over again. Perhaps I was too sparing with the salt - salt I believe is only effective when it's not too cold. My weather station (see http://www.dora.abelgratis.com/assets/Charlbury_Weather.html) indicated temperatures around -1.7 at that time, and reaching -3.7 at around 8.30.

The worst for me was the 30 yards approaching the river bridge where the pavements and the road were all treacherously slippery. The station staff had done a goo job of deicing the platforms though!

I caught the bus back from the station tonight.......

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 18:37

Following on from Heather Hill's post, Ditchley Rd itself is also never gritted or salted. Sometimes residents clear the pavements themselves, but I know of no salt or grit bins. Yesterday & today it was too dangerous even to attempt to shift the ice.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 16:22

All joking aside for a bit, here's what actually happened:

I went out for a walk yesterday afternoon. Yes, it was cold and the pavements of Dancers Hill looked slippery but I assumed that other parts of the town would have been salted. At the outset, I take full responsibility…

Long post - click to read full text

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 12:29

On areas that need attention can I please point out that the entire small estate off the Ditchley Road, which includes Elm Cresent, The Green, Jefferson Piece etc. is NEVER gritted and the entire Road and pavements are very dangerous.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 12:16

It seems that the Town Council asked for an additional 12 salt bins for Charlbury, but the County would only agree to an extra three and they have not yet put them in place.
By the way I do not claim credit for raising this important issue in the council, it was Councillor Valou Packenham-Walsh.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 12:09

I was 'attacked' (OK it comes with the job) yesterday when buying my Sunday paper (not, I hasten to add by Veronica) about the nongritting of the pavements and roads and I fired off an email when I got home to WODC. They replied this a.nm. that the roads were the responsibility of OCC but hopefully my plea for help might have got the WODC lorry out. The bins (sting of and provision of) need to be negotiated through Charlbury Town Council.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 12:08

Thanks Reg. I'll email Neil Owen. And maybe you could raise it on the Town Council again?

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 11:48

The provision and location of salt bins, and salting of pavements is a County Council issue not west Oxfordshire or the Town Council so is is a matter for Neil Owen our County Councillor.
The issue was raised in the Charlbury Town Concil last March - see item 9 of the March 2008 minutes, but I think the issue later slid off the agenda for some reason which I can't remember.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 11:27

Congratulations to WODC for getting a gritting team here first thing this morning. The pavements in the centre were mostly gritted by 11. Congratulations to Derek, too, on a brilliant job on Dancers Hill: I went and admired his handywork and he had made good use of the salt bin to make the pavement there very safe indeed. Definitely 10 out of 10. I noticed additional salt bins ready for use at the corner of Sheep Street/Fishers Lane, and on Sandford Rise.

I tried to use the internet to spread more salt, but found the mouse was very slow at spreading and useless at getting the stuff out of the bin. The shovel I was carrying worked much better.

Note to Glena: steep places that BADLY need a salt bin include Church Street, Poole's Lane, and Dyers Hill. And is there one on Hixet Wood?

Derek can't do 'em all.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 10:19

There is such a 'strategically placed salt bin' on Dancers Hill, so we can assume that Derek salted/gritted the pavement there before walking on, so that the elderly women he is so rightly concerned for could pass in safety. Of course the people who live there would have done it had they realised the danger, but public-spirited Derek got there first.

Simultaneous gritting of every pavement in the District would be astronomically expensive, put a sizeable amount on the council tax and probably get the council capped by government, so we're all really grateful to the likes of Derek and other fit young(ish) men for their public spirit, and the many others like them in thousands of towns and villages across the south of England.

We should ask the council to provide more salt bins so they can do a more thorough job. Perhaps that's where Glena comes in?

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 09:57

I'm making the assumption that after the council ran out of salt last year in the snow - they've realised that Charlbury (and surrounding areas) didn't cease to exist or turn and revolt against them when we weren't visited by the gritters. Therefore, they're going to ignore Charlbury completely this year?
Some needs to change though as the roads and pavements are very dangerous at the moment (and by change I don't mean the weather!) Strategically placing salt bins around the town would help - I wondering if they are already but I haven't noticed them? Quite possibly? That way we could all aid the situation ourselves when the council for whatever reason don't come round.

Mon 21 Dec 2009, 09:36

Well said Brian if you would care to start a petition i would be the second to sign after you ,its a utter disgrace .

Sun 20 Dec 2009, 22:19

Hats off to the Council! Yes, by carefully forgetting to grit most of the pavements in the town, Charlbury has this weekend been transformed into West Oxfordshire's first municipal skating rink! And the entertainment is completely free of charge! Why travel all the way to Somerset House, queue for hours and pay through the nose for a mere hour's skating when you can slip and slither to your heart's content for nothing all day long in Charlbury?

Areas of the town that I would particularly recommend for skating at the moment are Church Street and Dancers Hill. I took a tumble on the latter this afternoon and whacked my hip but hey I'm not a 75-year-old woman with low bone mineral density and a greatly elevated risk of osteoporosis so there was no harm done and I could see the funny side.