Chesterfield's grit bins

During the very cold winter of 2010-11, Chesterfield Borough Council, then under a Liberal Democrat administration conducted a Grit Bin review. This had been extensive taking nearly a year to complete.

With our loss at the 2011 elections, when the new Labour administration took office in 2011, it decided for some strange reason that a further review into grit bins was required.

Eventually in 2012, after yet another cold winter, the final - and by now long delayed - review came to the conclusion that the purchase, supply and filling of new grit bins was solely the responsibility of Derbyshire County Council.

The County Council however has made it clear for several years now that it will fund only a limited number of new grit bins for all the towns and villages across the county and only then if the Borough or District Councils agree to refill them!

Chesterfield's additional grit bin allocation in 2011-12, entirely under the auspices of the Labour Party, was a miserly three bins.

This highlights that there is a petty political impasse between the Labour Borough Council and the Conservative County Council .

The County Council will supply next to nothing and only then if the Borough takes on the continuing responsibility for filling them - and unfortunately the presently Labour controlled Borough Council has a policy of "This is the County's responsibility". So as is quite usual when Labour is involved, the problems of the local residents are kicked into the long grass, or in this case, lost and frozen out deep snow!

We Liberal Democrats frankly are astonished that a Labour Council which trumpets its support for public services cannot find wit, wisdom, imagination or cash to resolve this simple problem and we face another possibly seriously disruptive winter where neither council takes any responsibility for sorting this matter.

The general public is likely completely unaware of these confused dogmatic policies at both Councils.

All of this We won't talk to them chaos prompts the difficult question to Chesterfield Borough Council's Labour Cabinet: "When we are all shin deep in snow, how do we explain that to residents?"

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrats in Chesterfield along with our local councillors at the County Council simply campaign for a satisfactory solution to this pathetic state of affairs and just want an end to the logjam and dogma for the wellbeing of local people and our visitors and other people who might be just passing through.

Ordinary people always get a better deal with the LDs - If you want to solve rather than creeate problems and would like to help the LibDems bring some sanity back to the local authority, you can get in touch be sending us an email to contactus@chesterfieldlibdems.org.uk We look forwards to hearing from you.