Winter grit wardens wanted
After last year’s cold snap which saw the number of factures double at A&E, the call has gone out for volunteers to help keep local streets safe.
Green councillors in one south Norwich ward want to establish a network of ‘volunteer grit wardens’.
The icy conditions last winter prompted calls to improve the way Norwich copes with dangerous, slippery pavements. The Norfolk and Norwich University hospital saw the number of fractures they treated double during the wintry conditions.
Early last year, city councillors started to raise questions about the number of grit boxes and called for better publicity, explaining that the public can use them themselves during bad weather.
Ahead of this winter, green party councillors in Nelson ward want to compile a network of volunteer grit wardens who would be willing to grit the footpath on their street during icy weather. Councillor Andrew Boswell said: “What we’re trying to do is to see whether it’s possible to get a network of people who’ll look after the grit bins, and to tell us when supplies run low.”
He added: “There was a feeling that you shouldn’t grit pavements, in case you were held liable if somebody slips, but there’s actually very little evidence of that, and we want to encourage people to help their neighbours.”
Anyone willing to volunteer is asked to contact Councillor Andrew Boswell (Green, Nelson Ward) on 01603 612842 or email andrew.boswell@norwichgreenparty.org.
Comments to “Winter grit wardens wanted”
I suggested last year that the council should publish the locations of the grit bins on a map, or make sure they were added to OpenStreetMap or similar, then people would know/could find out where they were. Empty bins can be reported via FixMyStreet by anyone. There’s definitely no need to get complicated.
Comment
Having wardens seems like a way of overcomplicatting it. Why not just do what councils like the London Borough of Sutton have done and offer residents a free bag of grit so they can take responsibility for their own paths and areas.