Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington, has raised concerns about a lack of gritting on local pavements during recent bouts of icy weather saying he 'witnessed firsthand the hazardous conditions on streets and local pavements'.  

The MP wrote to the Leader of Warwickshire County Council to stress his concerns, and ask to what extent good quality gritting had been undertaken. Having heard from countless residents and businesses he flet obliged to raise it with the councils.

Chiltern Railways staff were forced to spend hours gritting pavements in neighbouring streets as they hadn't been treated. 

In the letter, Matt Western also expressed his concern that the conditions on the pavements were particularly dangerous for those with reduce mobility and those with greater risk of falling. He also stressed that the conditions could deter people from visiting local town centres.  

Cllr Finch responded to Mr Western's letter sharing that the standard response from the County Council when ice is predicted is to grit:

• All main traffic routes, A roads, most B roads and one or two other strategic routes,  
• In urban areas, the accesses to hospitals and main industrial estates  
• Single route into all villages. 

The Leader said he was not aware of any issues preventing the grit being put down as required.  

He added that the standard response does not include gritting of footways and footpaths but when aware of specific concerns for footways, reactive 'spot grits' will be carried out.

Cllr Finch continued that grit bins are also available for communities to put grit down themselves. 

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Seeking further clarification from Warwick District Council, the local MP asked whether the district council held any responsibility for gritting roads and pathways. In response, the District Council confirmed that they have no responsibility for roads and footpaths that are part of the local highway system. However, the gritting of land owned by the district council (such as car parks and parks) is done on a risk-based approach relating to the severity of the weather and the degree of public usage.  

Commenting on his concerns, Mr Western said:  "I saw firsthand how icy the local pavements were and the hazardous conditions they were creating, particularly for older residents and those with limited mobility.  

"It seems the County Council do not proactively grit pavements unless they are identified as specific concerns, something I fear may happen too late after someone has slipped and been hurt.  

"There's no doubt we will get another sub-zero cold snap this winter and I will push the County Council to do more on gritting our pavements. I'd also encourage residents to feedback to the Council, and copy me in, on which pavements are particularly bad and require gritting to help keep people safe." 

In response to Mr Western's statements, a spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said: "Warwickshire County Council does not treat footways anywhere in the County as part of its precautionary gritting routes in line with its policy as shown here.

"There is a legacy agreement with local councils whereby the County provides salt for town centre footpaths but the spreading of this relies on the capacity of partners in town or parish councils. As with highways, though, they have an extensive network of footpaths and cannot treat that much in a short space of time so paths known to be more hazardous are treated as a priority.

"In addition to this, there are over 1200 grit bins that the Council maintain across Warwickshire that are intended for public use on local footpaths.  

"There are no plans to review the policy this winter. With icy conditions, our advice to vulnerable people is to stay indoors wherever possible and we always encourage the kindness that often shines through at these times of the county's communities. We urge people who can get about relatively easily to look out for more vulnerable neighbours and help with shopping and the like until the conditions improve."

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