THE Coop gets enough slagging off about their prices but a young member of staff at the High Street shop deserves a pat on the back for the superb job he has done of completely clearing the pavement of snow. Duncan Strath was out with his shovel making sure at least one stretch of the High Street was safe for shoppers. Even his dad Tommy who doesn't work in the store mucked in.
Surely this is an opportunity for Nairn shopkeepers to steal a march on the pulling power of the Eastgate Centre.
One pensioner made the point if every shop in the town centre made a little effort and followed this young lad's example it would make Nairn a safer shopping environment and encourage people to come 'down the street' to do some of their Christmas shopping.
We cannot expect our council staff to do everything for us. In times like these we all need to play our part. If shopkeepers took responsibility for clearing the pavements it would allow limited council resources to be diverted to other areas of need. Come on you shopkeepers, show you mean business and get out these shovels. Well done Duncan
We received a comment suggesting that some paths in the town were getting preferential treatment. A comparison was made between the path out the Cawdor Road to Firhall and the footpath/cycle path to the Academy and the state of the West End. Our anonymous commentator thought the West End paths would be up to the standard of the path to Firhall and made suggestions as to why this would be. We won’t go there but I can inform him/her that they are wrong. The West end looks the same, or perhaps worse, than everywhere else just as it was last year. Whilst checking the state of the Firhall path (it was in pretty good condition having had the snow removed to a great extent) a council vehicle arrived to give it another ploughing/gritting.
All over town it looks as though the pavements have received a gritting but very few are up to the standard of the Firhall path yet. Is this because it is beside a main road? The paths beside the A96 have been fairly thoroughly sorted too. Our anonymous correspondent did say, ‘The footpath from Lodgehill Road to the school, which is used by hundreds of pupils and pedestrians has of course not been touched.’ Well it has been gritted but again compared with the state of the Firhall path it is in a very poor state indeed.
There is a map available which shows us which roads get gritted first. Perhaps one should be produced to show which footpaths are priority, thus residents would know if they were getting a fair share of the work done according to the said priorities?
It's all relative however and please bear in mind that these are extreme conditions and the town guys are working very hard - remember for some of them their long-term employment prospects are now somewhat uncertain and it must be hard for them to maintain their morale in such circumstances.
Just a video snapshot for now, more later from last night's meeting.
Some notes from the meeting:
NRCC heard from Norther Constabulary how there had been a significant reduction of crime in the Nairn and Strathspey force area. Where crime has fallen by 12% in the Northern Constabulary generally it has fallen by 22% in this area in the last twelve months. Crime detection rate is now 68% compared to 63% in the force command generally. The constables explained how they were making inroads into youth disorder problems with an educational approach that was making significant dividends. A resident from Church Street, an area that has has experienced disorder problems in the past told the meeting that there had been a great improvement recently. The meeting passed a vote of thanks to traffic warden Sandy Ford and there was some trepidation that his local knowledge and good relationship with the public would be sorely missed. The police intend to attend all community council meetings and will answer questions from the public but would prefer advance notice of the questions sent to the Inspector at the new station.
Jean thanked Margaret Mackintosh, who stood down from the council at the election, for her years of hard work as treasurer. Margaret had hoped to be at the first meeting of the new council but the state of the streets probably kept her at home perhaps?
Liz reported that the vacant post of Harbour master would be filled, contrary to initial fears that the late Alex Taylor's post would be left vacant due to cuts. The post will be an agency position and will shortly be advertised.
There was a long and animated debate about the state of the roads in the town. It was very lively at times and passionate views were heard. You will have read similar views if you are a regular reader of the Gurn. The meeting heard of elderly people that had not left their houses for almost a month for fear of slipping on the paths. You can see the gist of Liz's position in the video. It was reported that mechanical diggers are now scrapping snow and ice from the roads in Queenspark. There were fears that the category system 1,2,3 &4 wasn't being adhered too and even where it was this was leaving large areas with no gritting assistance at all. A dark joke was heard about 'Category 5' areas.
Another lively debate for the Firhall Bridge and support for Riverside campaigner Murd Dunbar who won the backing of the Community Council for his initiative to enable disabled access via ramps over the Firhall bridge, thus opening up both sides of the riverside walks to more members of the community. Good on you Murd, keep going there's a lot of folk out there behind you too!
Graham Marsden promised to further look into issues concerning the Nightclub application for Church Street and promised to report the result of a meeting with the Council's solicitor back to Carol Clark. Graham told the council that he remained vehemently opposed to the application.
Murd once again repeated his gurn about the beech hedge that needs cutting on the brae up to Queen's Park from the railway bridge. The Highland Council really does need to pay more attention to this hedge, especially given the narrow pavement and the speed and numbers of cars moving on the Cawdor Road here. Numbers of cars that will only increase as more facilities move into the new hospital building.
There was a discussion on planning matters and the extent to which the community council should involve itself on applications in housing schemes etc. Tommy Hogg was of the opinion that they should pay a little more attention citing the occasions when people complain to the council after the event. Others were more reticent - a debate that will no doubt continue.
That's about it as remembered by this correspondent. No doubt more will appear in the local press but why not make a belated New Year resolution to attend at least one community council meeting yourself in 2010?
UPDATE Snow clearing in Queen's Park:
Two pictures of the contractors at work hereand here.
Once again a comment to the Gurn finds itself elevated to article status. Here's a comment received yesterday by 'Thank you' on another post:
The current prolonged cold snap has certainly caused a good stooshie with regard our ice and snow covered streets and pavements, with no let up in the current weather conditions in sight. I for one, and perhaps I’m the only one would like to thank all the people who have worked so hard to try and keep our roads open in recent weeks. It’s been no easy task as has been seen by the number of gritting vehicles who themselves have become casualties and slid off our roads, fortunately no one involved in these operations has been reported as seriously hurt. Joe public it seems has been outraged and angry that cash strapped councils have not thrown more of our money at the problem. Whilst it may be desirable to have squads of specially trained snow clearing workers ready to roll out at the drop of a snow flake, I would suggest that in monetary terms councils would get hung if they made this sort of expenditure, what would the crack snow clearing team do for the rest of the year? In general councils have managed to keep main roads open. These are our main arteries when it comes to receiving goods, getting to work, etc and in general I have found all the ones I’ve had to use perfectly OK when driving with due care and attention. Getting to my car and then onto a main road has on some days been challenging, but with good footwear and careful driving I have managed. The alternative that some people are asking for is a much more extensive gritting of side roads and pavements. Whilst this would undoubtedly be desirable I just cannot see that the council could justify the cost. On some days snowfalls are every few hours and with hard frosts at night pavements and side roads would require several applications of grit in any given twenty-four hours. Ignoring the manpower costs, Highland Council is using roughly £56,000 worth of salt per day to keep main routes open, I cannot begin to calculate even the material costs involved in trying to grit every public way in the region. Note: I’m calculating salt costs at £28 per tonne; it could be a little more or less than this. With a Council Tax freeze there isn’t a way our council or any council for that matter can find money for the extra winter costs other than by cutting another service, and with the salt bill running to around £400,000 a week that is an awful lot of our money it has to find. There are no easy answers and I’m sure Highland Council would very much like to provide a better service when it comes to the extent of its gritting. Just in case you are wondering I don’t work for the council but live in Nairn and as I said at the beginning of this gurn wanted to thank the people who have worked over the holiday period to keep so many of our roads open! As for future winter policy for Scottish councils that it up to us at the next elections. A continued freeze on council taxes, or do you want to pay a lot more so that the next bad winter is not quite so harsh to endure?
UPDATE: meanwhile in the other Royal Burgh...
'Council’s gritting ‘not good enough’ Tain and Easter Ross councillor says lack of road maintenance has left locals marooned at home. Tain and Easter Ross Independent councillor Alasdair Rhind has lost patience with Highland Council’s ploughing and gritting in his ward. He said: “I spoke with transport director Neil Gillies to be told, ‘We’ve done our best’.
“Frankly, they haven’t done their best, and here we are with people stranded in their homes because of the snow.'
Debate about the merits of the HC salting regime could very soon become academic if we take the First Minister at his word:
'First Minister Alex Salmond said the cold spell was the worst since the notorious winter of 1962-63 and warned that Scotland had just 45,000 tonnes of salt and grit left. He said the supply – enough for 10 days in a regular winter – would have to be kept for main routes, leaving side roads and residential streets untreated.'
Long time readers will remember the Gurn's article about thestate of the pavements in the town centre last year and how pedestrians were risking the roads instead of the black ice on the pavements. Exactly one year on and we have a similar scene although a few folk do seem keener to risk the pavements this time round but they are in the minority.
A couple of shopkeepers have cleared some snow/ice on the pavements in front of their shops but conditions are still dangerous in most of the town centre. For those interested in the subject here's a few pictures showing how once again in 2010 those on foot are abandoning the pavements on the second day of the year. No doubt there will once again be more debate in the local press on this issue. There is also comment and debate in articles below about whether we should take more responsibility ourselves when it comes to clearing snow.
Thanks again to Gurnite 'MR Archive' who has sent this interesting document. It will enlarge and shows you how Nairnshire coped in the past long before the Highland Council was ever invented. Would it be far better if the County's resources were once again put under local control with the help of volunteers?
To see the rules of engagement for all volunteers see here, to see who the good citizens that gave their time to help were please see here and here on images posted on Flickr.
The same idea could work both in the town and the County? Once we have a single Community Council for Nairn perhaps they and the other councils in Nairnshire could make this type of self-help organisation a reality once more. All we will see from Highland Council in the future will be more cuts. The people of Nairnshire are the only ones with the solutions now!
Freedom for Nairnshire! Saor Siorrachd Nàrainn!
Have a good one and see you all in 2010. Oidhche mhath a chàirdean!
The yellow gritting box in Ballark place - many of these handy boxes around town are now empty too.
This morning Radio Scotland reported that Nairn shops had run out of table salt as citizens try to keep areas close to their homes clear of snow. The situation is getting very difficult in many parts of the town and as this article is blogged further heavy snow falls on the area. The Highland Council is simply overwhelmed and, as reported in the Nairnshire, the Wee County now only has 3 gritting lorries instead of 4 and vacancies in the roads Nairn department have not been filled due to the cuts. Cuts that will only get worse in the years to come. According to Lib Dem councillor David Alston (quoted in the Sunday Times):
'Over the next three years we need to make savings of £60m. This will require a reduction in staff of about 12 per cent. We have a workforce of almost 10,000 so we are talking about 1,000 jobs.'
Elected councillors are simply reduced to the role of axemen and women. So the next time we have bad weather a lot more men and machinery could have been paid off. What is to be done as the local authority's power to help its citizens and council tax payers disintegrates before our eyes? Time for a new approach? Could a body of volunteers be recruited? A network that could be used in times of weather emergency and alerted by text and e-mail. Contractors could deliver loads of salt to designated sites around the town and volunteers could spread the salt with shovels and barrows?
What is the alternative for the future? Just give up and allow the elderly and those more vulnerable in our society to be prisoners in their own homes, with even the able bodied unable to walk safely on pavments or get their cars onto the diminishing number of roads that are open and safe to drive?
If the council is in the process of giving up is it time for the citizens to take more responsibility?
Parts of the town centre were very dangerous for pedestrians and cars this afternoon. Perhaps salting might(?) have occurred earlier in the day and maybe the temperature dropped quickly but surely someone should have been on standby to throw a bit of salt on the pavements and car parking areas of the town centre? The situation was just as bad in parts of the town centre as it was in the aftermath of Hogmany last year when Nairnites abandoned the pavements for the comparative safety of the roads.
Today was supposedly the biggest shopping day of the year, surely the town centre deserved a bit more service from the Highland Council? It was left to shoppers themselves to make the situation safer and two women were seen taking salt out of the yellow bin in the vennel between the Royal Bank and Somerfields and gritting the surface down to the High Street. Perhaps shoppers and shopkeepers are due a refund on their council tax for this?
Already you've seen the pics on the Gurn and read the subsequent comments now the Local Paper has been investigating and there is a front page article in this week's edition. Once again Councillor Marsden swings into action. Speaking about the Friday's total lack of gritting on the town centre pavements, he is quoted.
'I tried to contact local TECS people but got no reply. I even went out again to the depot on the Grantown Road, but that too was closed.'
More in this week's local slice of dead tree, get out there and buy it. Also an editorial attacking the situation concerning Nairn's planning office and a front page article on the same subject - and did you know there was an anti-war march in the town on Saturday? If there's to be more anti-war demos in town please let the Gurmeister know too, maybe some of our regulars would like to turn up.
Happy New Year everyone! Blogging is a bit of a vice, the Gurnmeiseter was only able to stay off it for a little more than 24 hours into 2009 but citizens there is something that we must report, we have taken pictures and our conscience will not let us stay digitally silent.
Has Highland Council also gone bust over the Christmas Holidays? Because there is not a bit of action up the High Street on the pavements covered with black ice and it is now 10.45 in the morning. It is usually the council’s policy to start at the town centre and work out to other areas but there seems to be a standstill today. Gurns were to be heard about why council tax is paid etc.
One elderly woman told the Gurn that she had walked across the town bridge on the A96 rather than use the pavement. It is quite understandable that folk will make their regular outing to the shops in the morning, comfortable in the knowledge that even if it is a bit icy where they live, at least the main pavements and the town centre will have been treated first thing. Not this time, let’s hope no one takes a serious tumble. In this picture another pedestrian decides that the main road is the lesser of two evils.
Customers for the hard-pressed post-woolies High Street risk injury to complete their purchases.
At 10.30, the Convenor mobile was seen up the High Street, surely Sandy would have noticed the punters walking on the road and the ice when he went into a shop for a paper. He headed off up the Cawdor Rd before the Gurn could reach him. Perhaps he was away up to the depot to personally take control.
This from one of our regular correspondents:
