Council makes U-turn on gritting fewer roads

Calderdale Council has halted its plans to grit fewer roads following criticism of the cost-saving measures.

The council said it needed to save £300,000 from its winter services budget when it proposed the changes.

However, residents and businesses raised concerns about the plans when snow and ice hit last week, with some fearing they could be left cut off.

Calderdale Council leader Jane Scullion said the authority had "listened" and would "think again" about other ways to save money.

Scullion said new options to save from its budget would be put to councillors in the new year ahead of a vote on the authority's final budget for 2025/26 in February.

Sarah Courtney, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said the authority had received a "large volume of concerns" about the plans, which had been due to come into place on Sunday.

“Our main priority has always been public safety during the winter months, and delivering the best service we can within available resources," she said.

Courtney said it was "not possible to grit every street and road" in the borough, which features numerous steep hills and valleys.

She added that the proposed changes would have met the council's legal duties for highway maintenance, with rock salt bins installed on affected routes.

Council officers would now be tasked with finding other ways to save money "to maximise our scarce resources the best we can", she said.

Calderdale Council said it had a funding gap of £15.7m this year and must find savings worth £39.3m over the next three years.

Courtney said: "This means we will need to consider further alternative savings, at an unprecedented and difficult time for local councils, as we set the council budget next year.”

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.