Just suppose you are an elderly person living on your own. Nine days ago it snowed in London. The pavements have been treacherous ever since. Would you go out an risk life & limb or stay in, running out of fresh food and provisions? More to the point, if you have to go out, who is responsible if you fall over and break your hip.
When my mother was 81 years old, she fell and broke her hip. On arrival at hospital they advised that many elderly people with her injuries don't make it. She pulled through the episode, but it just about finished her off and robbed her of what little independence she had. Yesterday I fell on the ice in Flower Lane car park, as I walked my dog. I didn't break anything, but I have a huge bruise. I was wearing proper walking boots, but the car park was a sheet of ice. The council had plenty of warning about the bad weather and the snow has sat on the ground for nine days. Elderly people are virtual prisioners and nobody can walk the pavements without fear of a fall. The grit bin at the bottom of our road is empty and has been for most of the time.
The council policy of not bothering to grit is tantamount to discrimination. The argument they use is that it's too expensive to grit. How come they used to do it and we paid far less tax? Council tax is higher than ever, but services are worse than ever. The reason? Overmanagement. In the not too distant past, council depots had a foreman who allocated the work and reported in to the town hall. My guess is that these days there are more managers than people driving grit lorries. I'd almost forgive them if when it snowed they all rolled up there sleeves and got out with the boys gritting. Sadly when it gets cold, the top bosses bugger off on holiday. They've left a geezer running the council who is not a Barnet Council employee, he's a highly paid consultant. He gets between £15,000 and £17,500 a month.
Has he been working 24 hours a day, telling staff on redundancy notices to pull their fingers out? Has he been repeating (on holiday) Council Leader Lynne Hillans message that "We're all in it together" to staff.
If you have fallen over and injured yourself, I'd strongly advise you to check and see whether Barnet Council have failed in their duty of care to you by not taking steps to ensure safety of their property (pavements, car parks, etc). If everyone who could sue them, did sue them, maybe they'd actually make sure the pavements are safe. Has anyone been to North London Business Park. I'd be intrigued to know if they've gritted around their own offices?
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Funnily enough, I've just added a comment on my own blog on this very subject ... it's all very well for certain Tory councillors to rant about the outrageous cheek of residents expecting pavements to be gritted, and saying the council has never done so, and never will do so. I don't remember such a long period of weather like this, with the resulting treacherous state of the pavements. The grit distribution arrangements have not been properly thought through, despite the experience of last year, and no thought has been given to the effect on the elderly and disabled residents who are effectively trapped in their own homes by the state of the pavements. I wonder how many have gone without being able to reach supplies of food or other necessities over the Christmas period? We tried on Xmas day to get some grit from our local bin, but of course it was empty. The location of the bins is very illogical too, if you check out the map. Barnet says you should go anf buy your own grit: I've asked where from but received no reply.
The council used to grit pavements, maybe not everyone in the Borough. They'd also make sure things like carparks were safe.
Has anyone been to see if a certain Tory Councillor has gritted his path?
re your comment Rog. No, don't know if certain councillor(s) have had their pavements gritted, but in these days of enforced idleness, just for the hell of it, I may go and check. (-;;; know what I mean (-:
Hope you and yours had a good Christmas and wishing you a better and happy 2011
hmm, well I've got to pass by the end of the road of said councillor later today so maybe I will go on a short fact finding, 'task and finish' detour ... get that shovel out now, chum, before I call round for a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie (- or whatever was in the Xmas hamper this year ...)you wouldn't want Mrs Angry to slip and break her neck, now would you?
Should come as no surprise if councillors and their kin have theirs gritted. Anybody visit their GP practices? " We've been advised that the insurance companies see it as an Act of God."
Around our way none of the residents cleared their own to the edge of the pavement. Guess Why?
The elderly and the disabled? Times have changed, "we're INVISIBLE" to the point that sprightly sexagenarian will push a disabled person out the way.
Oh my word, you have publicly accessible 'grit bins' in Barnet? Wow, that's just a distant memory from my childhood, since we do not have them at all in Camden.
Of course it's all completely outrageous, and further proof if any were needed, that councils don't give a shit about the people they are supposed to represent, the council taxpayer on the ground (literally, if you fall on the ice!) since we are clearly no more to them than bottomless pits of money whom they can just keep charging and charging and charging to pay for their wastage.
Where will it all end?
Rog
Suing the council would make the council change its ways as it is taxpayers who end up with the bill. If the councillors and chief officers had to pay compensation out of their own pocket, then perhaps it would have some effect.
Sorry, that should have read "wouldn't make the council change its way..."
well, we passed by the end of the road, and goodness me, do you know, it did rather seem to us that the pavements were completely untouched by grit or shovel ...
No Rog
NLBP was not gritted, except in the most basic of ways and the grit used was far inferior to the stuff used on the roads...
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