Resident’s “double standards” snow complaint

A SIDMOUTH resident is angry at what he calls the district council’s double standards during the recent snow and ice.

Brian Shelton, of Radway, took photos of the town centre, Ham car park and Esplanade, on Christmas Eve, in comparison to the car park at Knowle, East Devon District Council’s headquarters.

He said: “Nothing has been done to the car parks in the town centre, whereas at Knowle it’s clear. It seems normal people in the town are being ignored. It’s two standards, and it’s not acceptable.”

EDDC does not have proper snow and ice clearing equipment, or extensive grit stocks as it is not the highway authority.

A spokesman said: “The council has 52 car parks and it is impossible for us to service all of them, especially when travelling between them is so difficult. Most public footways are the responsibility of the highway authority and they are still struggling just to keep the primary roadways clear.

“So far as the driveway and car park at Knowle is concerned, EDDC has done no more than any reasonable and responsible organisation is legally obliged to do for its customers and employees.”

Mr Shelton was concerned about residents’ safety, especially as a neighbour had to be taken to hospital after slipping over.

“At the end of my road it’s complete glass, it’s atrocious” he said.

Devon County Council, as hightway authority, is responsible for grtting roads. A Highways Operations Control Centre representative said pavements and town centres were treated once the main routes and lower priority routes had been cleared.

“In extreme conditions such as we’ve been experiencing recently, we treat about 2,000 miles of road out of 8,000 as priortiy, then a further 1,000 after that,” he said. “We simply don’t have the resources to address anything else before that.”

See Letters, page 10