'We'll be cut off if our road isn't gritted'

A council's decision to grit fewer roads to save money has been criticised as a cold snap begins.

Calderdale Council has cut back on treating some roads in the borough under plans to cut £300,000 from its winter services budget.

A Met Office warning for disruption caused by snow and ice is in place until 10:00 BST on Wednesday, with temperatures expected to fall below freezing.

The council's leader Sarah Courtney said it was "not possible" to grit every street and the changes were in line with national guidelines and its legal duties for highway maintenance.

Hebden Bridge resident Helen Lacey is one of the residents affected by the changes, which she said had left her feeling "very anxious" as winter arrived.

Ms Lacey lives on Green House Lane, a road known locally as 'The Steeps' which connects a residential area with the town's main road.

"The road is our only way out to access services," she said.

"The community effectively becomes completely stranded and isolated if that road isn't gritted. It becomes too dangerous to drive."

The BBC has found councils across Yorkshire are spending less on winter road services.

In the last year £20.6m has been spent on services such as gritting salt and maintaining gritters, compared to £31m in 2017.

Calderdale Council said it has a funding gap of £15.7m this year and must find savings worth £39.3m over the next three years.

However, Mark Coup, director of Welcome Independent Living in Mytholmroyd, which employs 100 carers, said the authority could harm the local economy by gritting fewer roads.

"Shopkeepers can't get to the shops and the shops don't open, people aren't out spending money.

"Our carers are having to walk to calls rather than driving to get there. The consequences are really significant financially, physically and emotionally as well.

"People are worried, people are scared."

Calderdale Council said rock salt bins would be installed on the roads that had been removed from the preventative gritting routes if they weren't already in place.

“The geography of our borough, with its mix of rural communities and towns means that it’s not possible for us to grit every street and road," Courtney said.

"That means that we must focus on keeping the major routes on the borough’s network clear, targeting council resources where they’re needed most, and meeting our statutory duties as a highway authority."

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