Council bosses pledge to keep Hackney moving over Christmas

Grit supplies holding up well, council says

COUNCIL chiefs have pledged to keep Hackney moving over the holiday period whether we have a white Christmas or not.

A council spokesman said that salt stocks were at a good level despite what is shaping up to be the coldest December on record and that the borough’s street services department had staff on standby to grit the roads over the Christmas holidays.

He said: “If we experience snow fall similar to what we had earlier this year we’ll be OK to deal with it. The street scene department has contingency plans to deal with gritting the roads over the holiday period if there is a downfall of snow.”

Temperatures are expected to drop to two degrees below freezing tonight, leading to icy conditions on areas which saw heavy snow fall on Saturday, now melting under today’s sunlight. More snow is forecast for Wednesday.

The council has warned residents should not expect side roads to be gritted, however, unless they are in areas of heavy footfall or lead to public buildings such as libraries or buildings used by vulnerable people such as sheltered housing accommodation.

The spokesman added: “Unfortunately, it is not practical or feasible to grit all of the roads within the borough.”

This winter the council doubled its salt stocks to 300 tonnes for gritting the roads. It also had 500 tonnes available for keeping footpaths clear.

On Saturday, when around four inches of snow fell in just one morning council buildings such as libraries and leisure centres closed early but all council buildings and parks are open today.

For more information visit the council’s website on www.hackney.gov.uk.