Fife Council has defended its winter weather policy despite receiving more than 80 complaints during the big freeze and spending more than £3m to date dealing with the problems presented.
Figures obtained by The Courier through freedom of information show that during the bad weather the local authority received 83 complaints (up to January 12), and still has to deal with seven of them.
Forty-two were dealt with within 10 working days, and 33 within 20 working days. One complaint was withdrawn.
The snow and ice led to schools being shut, and some roads and pavements were regarded as treacherous by residents.
The local authority has said it used “every available” resource, including more than 500 council personnel, 30 council gritters/snowploughs and more than 100 items of externally hired plant.
The council says it worked “24/7” on primary routes and from 8am-8pm on other routes to try to clear Fife’s 2979 miles of roads and paths.ResourcesThis use of resources entailed council staff working with gritters and snowploughs at midnight and 4am during the snowy weather.
The council revealed it has spent the whole of its winter budget for 2010-11 £2.95 million on treating roads and paths during the freeze.
Dr Bob McLellan, head of Fife Council transportation services, said, “During the worst severe snow weather for perhaps 50 years all main routes remained open in Fife.
“The council increased its salt stocks from 8500 tonnes in 2009-10 to 21,300 tonnes for 2010-11 winter, an increase of 150%. During this exceptionally adverse weather we used more than 20,000 tonnes of salt, and ordered a further 14,000 tonnes.”
He continued, “Priority had to be given to primary routes. There is little point in vehicles leaving residential estates and not being able to continue their journey on ungritted/unploughed roads.
“If vehicles become trapped on main roads in isolated locations, then there is a distinct danger to the travelling public. It should be noted that we did not have a single main road closed throughout this period for any significant period.
“There is a need to balance public expectation of Fife’s residents with a one-in-50-year event. However, we have now had two severe winters back-to-back and we must review our planning and preparations against the background of this experience.”