Speaking on road safety in cold weather in the Assembly Chamber yesterday, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood questioned the different approaches to road gritting between North Wales Councils.
There were 69 crashes in just six hours across North Wales on Monday as a result of icy conditions on the roads, the vast majority of which were in Flintshire, Denbighshire and Anglesey –three counties where the roads had not been gritted.
Mr Isherwood raised the matter in this week’s Business Statement after the Minster for Government Business, Jane Hutt AM, stated that the Transport Minister will clarify the guidance that is given to local authorities on the gritting arrangements.
Mr Isherwood said:
“Could I ask you to ensure that that is done - I would not say, aggressively, but with vigour - and take note that Flintshire, Denbighshire and Anglesey had the vast majority of accidents, but had failed to grit the previous evening?
“Their council chiefs said that overnight freezing temperatures had not been forecast, and that they reacted when the temperatures dropped, even though Gwynedd and Conwy confirm that they had gritted their priority routes. And I can confirm, as a resident of Flintshire, that I went out to my car at 9pm the previous evening - the Sunday evening - and my car was already fully iced up, and my drive and the adjoining road were already very slippy to walk on.
The Minister replied: “I think, Mark Isherwood, it is important, again, to repeat what the First Minister said earlier on, which is very clear, and I’m sure that the Minister for Natural Resources will be saying that these weather events were unprecedented, and they weren’t forecast. And it’s very clear that, therefore, we need to look at the impact of climate change as a whole, and I’m sure that the Minister will be addressing that in his statement.”
Mr Isherwood added: “It’s a bit rich to blame climate change for differences in approach between neighbouring North Wales Councils, where excuses for not treating the road during the night won’t wash because it was clear the freeze had already set in the previous evening.”