Following a meeting with residents of Old Hollow held on 19th April 2010 I wrote a note of the discussions which was subsequently agreed by all parties - residents from Old Hollow and John Wallace, from County Council Highways.
This note was then presented as evidence on 11th May to the Environment and Economy Overview Scrutiny Panel held to examine the need for further gritting across the county in light of the very harsh conditions during the previous winter (2009-2010), attached below.
Other roads in the area that had been badly affected and over which I have made representations included Ebrington Road, West Malvern Road and Hornyold Road.
The Scrutiny Panel has now made a number of recommendations regarding Gritting in the County and a Winter Maintenance Review - these will be put to the Cabinet Member, Cllr Derek Prodger, responsible for this area in October 2010, who will then decide which recommendations will be accepted for implementation.
The Case For Winter Road ‘Gritting’ in Old Hollow, West Malvern
1. Introduction:
1.1 During the past few winters and especially during 2009/2010; driving conditions in Old Hollow, West Malvern have been very difficult and dangerous because of snow and ice. Despite numerous requests, the road was seldom gritted and enquiries by the Ward Member, Councillor Beverly Nielsen, revealed that Old Hollow was not included on the County Council’s priority gritting routes.
1.2 Concerns over this situation amongst Residents caused a number of complaints to be made, both directly by individuals and via the Ward Member. As a result, a meeting was held between Residents of Old Hollow; the Ward Member, and Mr John Wallace from Worcestershire County Council Highways.
1.3 Following this meeting it was suggested that a paper be submitted setting out the Residents’ case for the current situation to be remedied and for Old Hollow to be included on the County Council’s priority gritting routes.
2. The Case For Gritting:
2.1 Old Hollow is a narrow, two way, unclassified road with no footpath. It leads steeply uphill from its junction with Cowleigh Road to its junction with Lower Road, a distance of approximately half a mile. Roughly halfway between these two junctions, just past number 103, the angle of the road increases significantly. Old Hollow includes two ‘spur’ roads leading off the main road at acute angles, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the road.
2.2 Acknowledging the County Council’s criteria as discussed at the meeting, it is suggested that the case for gritting Old Hollow is as follows:
2.3 Road Safety: Dangers caused by a lack of gritting in Old Hollow include:
• The very steep gradient of Old Hollow making it difficult to walk in the road during icy conditions.
• The absence of footpaths, forcing pedestrians to walk on a surface shared by vehicles.
• Old Hollow is north facing and as a result is one of the worst roads in terms of its condition during snowy weather in Malvern. This makes Old Hollow significantly more vulnerable than for example Wyche Road.
• Old Hollow is higher than many other areas in Malvern.
• A number of accidents have occurred on the road during the last snowy weather as a direct consequence of the road’s icy condition.
• Driveway walls have been hit by vehicles that had lost control as a result of the icy conditions. There were also a number of ‘near misses’.
• Many vehicles have been seen sliding sideways down the very steep hill. This was clearly very dangerous for pedestrians who couldn’t get out of the way because of:
The slippery nature of the road.
The absence of footpaths.
It is suggested that the fact there have not been serious injuries during the past winter is pure luck, as the potential for serious injury is certainly there.
• On a number of occasions, it has been impossible to walk safely in Old Hollow because of the thick ice. This has been made worse by the snow plough which having ploughed the road, and in the absence of gritting, has impacted the snow into thick ice. (Photographs of this are available) On occasions, this has made it almost impossible to walk safely (or indeed to stand upright with any great ease) in Old Hollow.
2.4 Secondary Routes: Old Hollow is a main through route as follows:
School route:
• Old Hollow is the main route for both vehicles and pedestrians to and from the County Council’s Outdoor Education Centre which is off Old Hollow at the top. In this context, the following issues are considered relevant:
A standard triangular sign warning of a school is displayed in Old Hollow near to the turn off for the Centre suggesting that this is indeed a school, therefore complying with the gritting criteria.
The road immediately prior to this turn off when going uphill is particularly steep, making it especially dangerous for pedestrians. In the recent icy weather, there were occasions when it was virtually impossible to walk in the road.
• Old Hollow is a well used, main route for both vehicles and pedestrians going to and from:
Dyson Perrins High School
West Malvern St James’ Primary School
Northleigh Primary School
Because there are no footpaths in Old Hollow, the recent bad weather made it very difficult, dangerous and at times virtually impossible for children to use this route as a method of getting to and from these schools. For some children, this is the only route to and from their schools and again, it is considered that this complies with the gritting criteria.
Proximity to Industry/Shops Etc.:
• Old Hollow is a significant route to and from West Malvern to the town centre/ Cowleigh Road/Cowleigh Bank/the main Hereford/Worcester road. For some Residents, this is the only route available.
2.5 It is suggested that in view of this body of evidence; and given that for a number of residents of both Old Hollow and elsewhere in West Malvern, Old Hollow cannot be by-passed; a failure to grit this road creates significant and unavoidable road safety hazards.
2.6 It is therefore suggested that in light of the primary gritting consideration of road safety, Old Hollow does comply with the County Council’s gritting criteria.
3. Other Points Raised During the Meeting:
3.1 During the meeting, a number of other points were raised. Comments on these are as follows:
3.2 Parish Council Lengthsman: It was suggested that Residents might like to consider approaching the Parish Council to see if the Lengthsman could be made available to spread salt during poor weather. It is suggested however that this is impractical for the following reasons.
3.3 If pedestrians can’t walk safely, and vehicles can’t drive safely, which is the case in icy conditions, how is the Lengthsman to physically carry out this task? Added to which, where is the salt/grit to be stored?
3.4 Grit Bins: The subject of grit bins was raised and the point was made that there are very few places in Old Hollow where bins could be placed, certainly not in those areas where the road was at its narrowest.
3.5 Agreeing with this point, it is suggested that grit bins are not really the answer as the road is very steep, and by definition, spreading a little grit/salt in some places would be unlikely to solve the problem pointed out in relation to the Lengthsman. i.e. If pedestrians can’t walk safely, and vehicles can’t drive safely, how is the salt/grit to be spread.
3.6 Consultation: The question of consultation with the community was raised, and residents complained that not only had they not been consulted on the setting of the criteria, they had not been informed about its implications.
3.7 It was pointed out that this information had been made available via the County Council’s website. However, Residents were particularly unhappy that not only was the map showing the existing gritting route ‘almost impossible to read’, but accessing the communications with the residents about the Council’s decisions on gritting was very poor.
3.8 The general mood of the meeting was that residents were very unhappy at the existing state of affairs and wanted to emphasise that:
• Old Hollow had been on the County Council Gritting route a few years back and it was generally understood it had been subsequently excluded for cost, rather than road safety reasons.
• The grit bins provided at the top and bottom of Old Hollow were completely inadequate to the needs of the residents in snowy and icy conditions.
• Grit bins did not display phone numbers at the County Council so residents could alert the County when the salt levels were running low.
4. Conclusion:
4.1 It is felt that where there is a combination of risks that create an unusual level of danger to road users such as north facing roads situated on higher land, especially where there are no footpaths; there needs to be a mechanism for making a ‘special case’ for gritting.
4.2 It is suggested that Old Hollow should be such a ‘special case’ and that what is required to reduce the significant dangers to road safety that currently exist in Old Hollow as a result of untreated, icy roads is a proper gritting/salting regime.
4.3 In conclusion, it is therefore suggested that Old Hollow certainly falls within both the spirit and the letter of the gritting criteria; but that if this is not the case, then the criteria is wrong and needs to be changed.
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