Clerk’s CornerBy Viv Robins, Clerk to The Lee Parish Council
I know plenty has been written about the Shop elsewhere in this Newsletter and the sheer determination and resourcefulness of many of those involved, particularly Sally and Geoff, in keeping it going throughout this punishing (and at the time of writing seemingly never-ending) cold snap, but perhaps I could just add my thanks on behalf of the Parish Council. I was particularly impressed to hear of the lady who trudged through the snow from Hunts Green to make her early morning shift.
On the subject of valour, a gold star is also due to Justin Lewis who I understand had to tow a Red Rose bus up from Ballinger Bottom where it twice got stuck.
As District Councillor Nick Rose, who lives all too close to this vehicle graveyard, points out, there is not much point in Bucks CC sending a bus out into these kinds of conditions unless the relevant roads have been gritted, which in this case they had not. This brings me to:
To grit or not to grit
What can I say on this vexed subject? When I last wrote in December I said that only two roads in the Parish were on the BCC’s precautionary salting list: Chartridge Lane towards Ballinger Road and Ballinger Road towards Ballinger. The goods news then was that I had been misinformed and all the roads that had been on the list in previous years were still on it, including Oxford Street and Red Lion Hill. The bad news was that when it came to it, the week before Christmas, not all these roads were gritted – certainly not Chartridge Lane, at least for a day or two. There were a few anecdotal reports of gritting lorries being spotted in the Lee, but not in the act of actually dropping grit.
Of course since then we have had many days of snow and I think we would all accept that Bucks, as with other Councils in hilly and/or rural areas, has been greatly over-stretched and needing to ration supplies. It didn’t help when 15 tonnes of grit were stolen from the depot in Saunderton!
Anyway for the future the Parish Council was interested to hear that Bucks CC was reverting to its old policy of keeping piles of grit by the roadside. Apparently it is up to individual Councils to identify suitable spots and we are nominating Ballinger Hill, Swan Bottom crossroads, Kiln Hill, Lee Clump Hill – and the Parish Shop car park!
Pothole patrol
You will no doubt be pleased to learn that the BCC has stepped up the number of gangs mending pot-holes because of the huge deterioration in the roads caused by the extreme weather. Over the first three weeks of January they were due to have no fewer than five gangs out on the precautionary salting routes, repairing what they call Category 1 potholes (i.e. the worst). But looking out now on the snow-bound scene I can’t help wondering how often to date the weather has allowed this to happen?
A helping hand
I know I last said this in October at the time of the anticipated Swine Flu epidemic, but if there is anyone who needs a helping hand during this bitter weather or at any other time and cannot count on neighbours – which in my experience in this village is a rarity – I have a list of volunteers who would be only too happy to step into the breach, so please get in touch!