Fife Council urged to return grit bins to steep roads

Tay Bridgehead councillor Jonny Tepp claimed the grit bins were removed by the administration after a decision to make cost savings two years ago.

However, Councillor Tepp argued that common sense should prevail where long hills provide routes for traffic and pedestrians.

Councillor Tepp said: “We have a lot of long steep roads and paths in our ward.

“My view is that any residential street on a significant slope needs grit bins. We argued this when the grit bins were removed. Flass Road in Wormit is one example of a route where a grit bin was removed.

“In the past week I have been contacted and asked to replace bins that were taken away. I still find it astonishing that some of the bins were removed in the first place. Some residents feel ‘trapped’ in their homes.

“The Flass Road route, for example, is used by elderly residents and school children.

“I have written to the service manager asking for several specific locations to be looked at again but I haven’t received a full reply yet. I understand that the service is under immense pressure at the moment and perhaps they cannot respond quickly. However, the current situation and difficulties was entirely predictable.”

Derek Crowe, senior manager, Roads & Transportation Services, responded: “As part of a service review, we carried out a public consultation two years ago, which included elected members, about the number of grits bin in Fife along with their locations and how often they were used.

“Following the feedback, and in line with our statutory responsibilities, the grit bin inventory was re-shaped to meet the locations with greatest need and at a sustainable level that we could both afford and logistically arrange re-filling within a reasonable time.

“Fife Council has an extensive road gritting network that covers around 59 per cent of Fife’s roads.

“Grit bins are located in areas that are not on the priority gritting routes and like all such things there is a limited resource, and we continue to review the inventory and any new requests.

“We’re keen to encourage people, if they’re looking to treat the public paths and roads where they stay, to make better use of the grit bins already out there rather introducing new ones. We’re also happy to move grit bins around if this helps. Please just get in touch with us if you’d like us to move a grit bin by filling in our report a Road Fault form which you can find at – www.fife.gov.uk/services/report-it-online.