Councils work hard to keep us on the move

COUNCIL staff in Yeovil and South Somerset are keeping their fingers-crossed that they are in for a respite from the bad weather which has seen them working flat out around the clock.

Fresh from delivering an estimated 7,500 sandbads across South Somerset during the floods of late last year, the district council's streetscene services crews have worked hard over the past ten days to make town centres and open spaces accessible for everyone during the spell of snow and ice.

Crews were sent out to assist with  snow clearance in the market town centres of Yeovil, Bruton, Castle Cary, Crewkerne, Ilminster, Langport, Martock, Somerton, South Petherton and Wincanton from Friday, January 18, after a significant fall of snow caused potentially hazardous conditions for South Somerset residents and visitors.
 
A small tractor, normally on site at Yeovil Recreation Centre, was used to plough snow and then spread grit, using a small gritter it was towing in Yeovil town centre.  The specially built snowplough was purchased by Yeovil Town Council, to assist with snow clearance in the town centre by the district council. 

PHOTO: Rodney Pippard, groundsman at Yeovil Recreation Centre, is seen using his tractor in South Street, Yeovil, to clear with the recent snow and spread grit.

Yarlington Housing Group requested help with snow clearance at some of their sheltered homes schemes.  Priority routes across some open spaces such as Sydney Gardens and Oak Tree Park were also cleared of snow and gritted, as well as routes from Yeovil town centre to Yeovil District Hospital and access routes to toilets.

South Somerset District Council's environment and economic development spokesman, Cllr Jo Roundell Greene, said: “Our teams have been working extremely hard for the past week, helping to clear snow in and around our market towns.  The praise the team has received is well justified.

''After such a frantic December due to the floods, we didn’t expect to be so busy in January as well.   The team has coped fantastically with the additional workload.   Well done to all those staff that have helped.
 
“I would also like to pay tribute to the refuse and recycling crews who have continued to work in spite of the awful conditions.''

Cllr Roundell Greene added:  ''It is a challenging job getting in and out of lorries and emptying bins in this temperature.  I know the refuse and recycling crews have been working extra hard to get collections back on track, after this period of severe winter weather.''

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