Colin James Posted November 13, 2015 Report Posted November 13, 2015 I attended the BRPC Meeting last night at the Northolme Community Centre. During the public participation I asked if we could have at least 3 salt/grit bins for Glastonbury Close. One to be situated at the top of the close near Sydwall Road, another at the bottom of Glastonbury Close situated in the turning point on the final bend and the 3rd positioned near to the open space at the very end. Last Winter I drove to Tesco and collected grit on a few occasions and gritted the whole of the close from top to bottom as it is like an ice rink when the temperatures fall below zero. Over the years I have seen the bin lorry struggle and slide like you would not believe as well as vans and cars. I remember seeing some yellow bins some years back but they have since disappeared. I will also write to the clerk to request a few additional bins in and around Belmont too.
Victor Wright Posted November 15, 2015 Report Posted November 15, 2015 You do not see enough of these anymore. Council grit the main roads but quite often small roads where we all live are a nightmare.
Ben Roberts Posted November 16, 2015 Report Posted November 16, 2015 I attended the BRPC Meeting last night at the Northolme Community Centre. During the public participation I asked if we could have at least 3 salt/grit bins for Glastonbury Close. Salt bin.jpg One to be situated at the top of the close near Sydwall Road, another at the bottom of Glastonbury Close situated in the turning point on the final bend and the 3rd positioned near to the open space at the very end. Last Winter I drove to Tesco and collected grit on a few occasions and gritted the whole of the close from top to bottom as it is like an ice rink when the temperatures fall below zero. Over the years I have seen the bin lorry struggle and slide like you would not believe as well as vans and cars. I remember seeing some yellow bins some years back but they have since disappeared. I will also write to the clerk to request a few additional bins in and around Belmont too. Would it be useful to have an up to date map showing the location of every grit bin? Whilst Hfds Council does publish a map of gritting routes https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-highways/maintenance/roads-gritting/gritting-routes-map They seem unwilling to publish the location of grit bins. There is an interesting project run by volunteers in Birmingham which hopes to map the location of every grit bin in the West Midands using Open Streetmap http://www.mappa-mercia.org/maps/gritting-map Maybe we could map all of the local grit bins? Would be useful for motorists / local residents and also help to identify areas that are missing bins? Open Streetmap is fairly easy to edit and paper maps can even be printed which volunteers can take out and about, write information on and this can be added to the map at a later date.
Colin James Posted November 16, 2015 Author Report Posted November 16, 2015 Would it be useful to have an up to date map showing the location of every grit bin? Whilst Hfds Council does publish a map of gritting routes https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-highways/maintenance/roads-gritting/gritting-routes-map They seem unwilling to publish the location of grit bins. There is an interesting project run by volunteers in Birmingham which hopes to map the location of every grit bin in the West Midands using Open Streetmap http://www.mappa-mercia.org/maps/gritting-map Maybe we could map all of the local grit bins? Would be useful for motorists / local residents and also help to identify areas that are missing bins? Open Streetmap is fairly easy to edit and paper maps can even be printed which volunteers can take out and about, write information on and this can be added to the map at a later date. That is a good idea Ben.
Glenda Powell Posted November 16, 2015 Report Posted November 16, 2015 Do not know if its still the case but BRPC used to buy their own a few years ago.
Colin James Posted March 12, 2016 Author Report Posted March 12, 2016 So apparently Councillor Des Parish has done a site visit to Glastonbury Close and between her and another councillor have decided that Glastonbury Close does not need a salt bin and it would not be warranted, I would love to know how they came to that conclusion? So my request has been completely dismissed then? I think as the longest resident in the close for over 25 years it qualifies me to judge whether a salt/grit bin is required or not and from my experience over many winters (excluding this year which has been very mild) it is like an ice skating rink coming down the hill and around the sharp bend at the bottom of the close. Last year we witnessed a bin lorry just sliding, it missed two cars by just a few cm. They do not grit the road and for the past 4-5 years I have driven to Tesco and Haywood lane to obtain a few buckets of grit and spread it down the whole street myself, hence why I requested a couple of bins. I see from the minutes of the meeting that it has been deferred now until Autumn, so what was the point of that? I asked for these back last November! What an utter joke! What is the precept money for? They are happy to spend thousands of pounds of CCTV camera for their little community centres but we can't have 2 salt bins at a cost of less than £90 each! Quite happy to pay a Councillor's family member £120 though to deliver their leaflets... Grit/salt bins website I will write to the HT and highlight this and maybe I will bring up past financial questions while I am at it.
H.Wilson Posted March 12, 2016 Report Posted March 12, 2016 Money that is wasted on frivolous things no problem but ask for £170 to purchase 2 grit bins as a safety and accident prevention and your denied, referral is a polite way of saying no in my opinion. You almost need a severe frost and an accident to happen now over the next month t prove a point. Who is this Des Parish bloke anyway, can't say I have ever heard of him, does he live in the close Colin?
Colin James Posted March 12, 2016 Author Report Posted March 12, 2016 Money that is wasted on frivolous things no problem but ask for £170 to purchase 2 grit bins as a safety and accident prevention and your denied, referral is a polite way of saying no in my opinion. You almost need a severe frost and an accident to happen now over the next month t prove a point. Who is this Des Parish bloke anyway, can't say I have ever heard of him, does he live in the close Colin? ha ha Des Parish is a woman and no she does not live in Glastonbury Close. I have no idea when or if she did a site visit I can only go off what I was told and what it says in the minutes. Even though I was the resident who requested the bin, you would of thought that maybe they could of called me prior to their apparent visit or even knocked on my door while they were on site to give me the opportunity to explain and point out the dangerous locations and to qualify my request. Do we really have to start writing letters and having petitions in order to have a couple of bins placed in the close?
Roger Posted March 12, 2016 Report Posted March 12, 2016 Seems like an arbitrary decision was made as opposed to listening to 'evidence' from someone who can relate details of previous problems. Have they got sidetracked over any lack of sufficient incline on the roads in that area? Blinkered? There is a grit bin near me by the way. Penn Grove Road. On a bend but no real incline on the road.
Frank Smith Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 Nothing surprises me about the parish council to be honest. A legit request for a low cost bin to make the roads just that bit safer is basically rejected. I will have a troll through the minutes too and see where they spend their our money if not on sensible requests like this. Why was this no given the go ahead can one of the local Councillors please throw some light own this please?
Ubique Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 Wonder what expertise / briefing these Cllrs have received which makes them experts in deciding where these salt bins should be located. As an aside , we have one salt bin in my "village " / hamlet . My country lane which contains a hill on a bend has never been gritted by the Council - however a resident of the lane regularly fills his trailer up with salt from this bin and scatters it on the hill around the bend . He is doing is so that he, plus other residents along the lane can drive into work the next morning - if it wasn't gritted the lane would become impassable and more than 12 residents of the lane would not be reporting for work .
Paul Jones Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 It is pretty obvious that a salt bin is needed here otherwise having one would not of been requested and Colin what not of gone out of his way to attend the parish meeting in order to submit his request, this is almost an insult to his judgement. They are taking the pi*%, what qualifies Des Parish or the other councillor as to whether a bin here would be justified unless they live in the close and witness the problems first hand.
M. Preece Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 I bet if the same request was made by her or one of the other councillors it would of just been a formality, why would they not agree other than to just be awkward?
Colin James Posted March 13, 2016 Author Report Posted March 13, 2016 It is pretty obvious that a salt bin is needed here otherwise having one would not of been requested and Colin what not of gone out of his way to attend the parish meeting in order to submit his request, this is almost an insult to his judgement. They are taking the pi*%, what qualifies Des Parish or the other councillor as to whether a bin here would be justified unless they live in the close and witness the problems first hand. I took a few photographs this afternoon to show how bad the incline is with several bends and a nasty sharp bend on an adverse camber at the bottom of the close. Walking up the close, this is the sharp bend on the adverse camber Walking further around Another good angle looking up hill on a bend Your can clearly see it is quite a steep incline this is where the bin lorry was slipping backwards last winter on the ice. You can see the top of Glastonbury Close here where it joins Sydwall Road. View from Sydwall Road into Glastonbury Close This photo was taken in Sydwall Road looking down into Glastonbury Close A little further, you can imagine how dangerous it is when it is icy, it is like an ice rink! Another view looking back down the close a little further along A little further towards the bend You can see the adverse camber coming up Adverse camber is pretty obvious from this angle.
Mick Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 Your photographs speak volumes, who was it that said no bin is required here? I can see and imagine how bad that would be with ice on the ground. I reckon you need more than one bin down there.
Denise Lloyd Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 Attend the next meeting and remind them of their duties. Or come and live in Kingstone we're not like that!
H.Wilson Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 Des is a woman ah my mistake but thank you for pointing that out. I agree with Mick, pictures certainly do speak volumes, it is obvious to me just looking at your photo's that a grit bin would be very useful here, I fail to see why they would defer or refuse one in all honesty. I would write too the HT and also contact the highways agency to highlight this.
Colin James Posted March 13, 2016 Author Report Posted March 13, 2016 Attend the next meeting and remind them of their duties. Or come and live in Kingstone we're not like that! I will Denise as long as I am not away on business but I will do my utmost to attend and ask, be good to have you there be a good opportunity to meet up. The next full meeting of Belmont Rural Parish Council will take place on Thursday 14th April 2016 at Belmont Community Centre, Eastholme Avenue, Belmont, commencing at 7pm.
Bill Thomas Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 I do not understand why the parish council did not agree to supply the grit bins, I would love to hear their reason for not deciding and especially deferring a final decision to the Autumn, like that is going to make any difference, decision should of been made in favour while they had the chance, how annoying.
Denise Lloyd Posted March 13, 2016 Report Posted March 13, 2016 Perhaps it was a case that it wasn't their idea! Sometimes people think they are more important than they actually are I was surprised at just how much money they have in the PC Bank Account unless I misread it
K.Butt Posted March 14, 2016 Report Posted March 14, 2016 I took a few photographs this afternoon to show how bad the incline is with several bends and a nasty sharp bend on an adverse camber at the bottom of the close. Glastonbury Close.jpg Walking up the close, this is the sharp bend on the adverse camber Glastonbury Close1.jpg Walking further around Glastonbury Close bend.jpg Another good angle looking up hill on a bend Glastonbury Close2.jpg Your can clearly see it is quite a steep incline this is where the bin lorry was slipping backwards last winter on the ice. Glastonbury Close3.jpg You can see the top of Glastonbury Close here where it joins Sydwall Road. View from Sydwall Road into Glastonbury Close Sydwall Road.jpg This photo was taken in Sydwall Road looking down into Glastonbury Close Glastonbury Close downhill.jpg A little further, you can imagine how dangerous it is when it is icy, it is like an ice rink! Glastonbury Close4.jpg Another view looking back down the close a little further along Glastonbury Close downhill2.jpg A little further towards the bend Glastonbury Close bend3.jpg You can see the adverse camber coming up Glastonbury Close main bend.jpg Adverse camber is pretty obvious from this angle. Ice rink indeed, lots of cars just waiting to be hit when t's icy looking at these photo's, how did the visiting Cllr's come to their decision not to provide grit bins following a request from the public? They complain that hardly anyone attends their meetings and when someone does attend with a legitimate and sensible request it gets denied or if you want to dress it up it gets deferred. Where is the common sense here?
Adrian Pitt Posted March 16, 2016 Report Posted March 16, 2016 I have driven down here in the ice and it is not good, seriously, so I find this decision baffling to be honest.
lpusseycat Posted March 17, 2016 Report Posted March 17, 2016 Well we live in Argyle rise and when it is bad you cannot get out of the road we could do with a grit bin at the top most years me and a couple of others have had to put grit down at our own cost so i can understand there plight in Glastonbury close
Steve Major Posted August 3, 2016 Report Posted August 3, 2016 Any update on whether or not a bin or two will be provided or do the Parish Council intend to keep sitting on all the money they have?
Colin James Posted November 30, 2016 Author Report Posted November 30, 2016 Any update on whether or not a bin or two will be provided or do the Parish Council intend to keep sitting on all the money they have? No Steve! A salt bin is not required, as apparently the road is flat Having lived in Glastonbury Close since the houses were built over 26 years ago I can assure people that the road is definitely NOT FLAT! There is a bloody great slope all the way down, HENCE the bloody request to the BRPC. This low cost request was denied (probably because it was my request) so I am just waiting now for an accident to happen and then I will probably write to a few people. It is -7c this morning and the road is like an ice rink!
Adrian Bridges Posted December 10, 2016 Report Posted December 10, 2016 Update on salt bins Myself and the Vice Chairman had a site visit to re-review the locations for salt bins, for which this item was deferred from last year. This was again tabled at last Thursday Parish Council meeting. I am finally pleased to be able to announce that we as a Parish approved the installation of 4 new Salt Bins within Belmont Rural Parish. 1 - At the Junction of Sydwall Road and Glastonbury 2 - One at the corner of Glastonbury close where the road turns sharp right. 3 - One on Northolme Road where the road drops sharply 4 - One opposite the Junction of Tavistock on the grass verge. Over the coming weeks these will be installed once we can get a supplier to deliver these along with the grit. The plan next during next year will then be create a permanent base at each location to make them secure
Colin James Posted December 10, 2016 Author Report Posted December 10, 2016 On 10/12/2016 at 16:44, Adrian Bridges said: Update on salt bins Myself and the Vice Chairman had a site visit to re-review the locations for salt bins, for which this item was deferred from last year. This was again tabled at last Thursday Parish Council meeting. I am finally pleased to be able to announce that we as a Parish approved the installation of 4 new Salt Bins within Belmont Rural Parish. 1 - At the Junction of Sydwall Road and Glastonbury 2 - One at the corner of Glastonbury close where the road turns sharp right. 3 - One on Northolme Road where the road drops sharply 4 - One opposite the Junction of Tavistock on the grass verge. Over the coming weeks these will be installed once we can get a supplier to deliver these along with the grit. The plan next during next year will then be create a permanent base at each location to make them secure Thank you Adrian, it was good to meet you all on site and I appreciate all of the positive efforts that the majority of councillors have put in to make this happen. As you could all see from the site visit the Salt Bins are very much needed and will be a massive help during the winter months when ice is on the ground. This close is a real nightmare with the long slope and severe sharp bend with the adverse camber, these Salt Bins will be very welcome by all who live in the close.
H.Wilson Posted December 10, 2016 Report Posted December 10, 2016 I am surprised at how long this took to be approved but a great result for the people of these roads
Colin James Posted December 16, 2016 Author Report Posted December 16, 2016 The salt bins are due for delivery next Tuesday these should then be in place by Friday at the latest. This is great news!
Adrian Bridges Posted December 23, 2016 Report Posted December 23, 2016 I am pleased to inform all on Hereford Voice that as promised the 4 Salt Bins were today installed by myself and two other Parish Councillors Neil Hooper and Derek Preedy (Photos attached). 1 - Northolme Road 2 - Sydwall Road / Glastonbury Close Junction 3 - Glastonbury Close 4 - Whitefriars Road opposite Tavistock Drive.
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