Clearing city's pavements 'not job of council'

A SENIOR councillor has sparked fury by telling Edinburgh residents to stop moaning and clear their frozen pavements themselves.

Norman Work, SNP councillor for Almond and deputy health leader on the council, said it was "no time for laziness" and residents should "stop expecting other people to do the work" – unless they are "90 years old".

His comments immediately provoked fury among fellow councillors and residents as the city-wide chaos caused by the cold snap continues.

• Is Cllr Norman Work right to suggest residents should be clearing ice themselves? Click here to vote.

They echoed those of First Minister Alex Salmond and top local government official Pat Watters who both urged householders to clear their own icy roads – though using more diplomatic language. The comments came as opposition leaders today demanded that thousands of council workers be redeployed from behind desks to the streets to help bolster the Capital's gritting operation.

There have also been calls for an investigation amid suggestions that the ongoing bin dispute has led to a shortage of manpower.

Councillor Work told the Evening News that everyone needed to take responsibility for keeping the city moving.

He said: "A lot of people think the council should clear the pavements, but I think residents and shopkeepers should do it – unless you're 90 years old. There is only enough salt to go around. This is no time for laziness.

"There are a lot of fit people out there, stop expecting other people to do the work for you. Why not clear your own pavement?

"I remember when people used to clear the pavements outside their own property. I find it really strange that people no longer do that."

Cllr Work, who said he had only had five complaints from constituents. He said: "As long as the main roads are clear and people can use the bus routes I think everything is fine. If we start gritting one pavement we'd have to do every pavement."

His comments drew a furious response from pensioners who have been trapped in their homes because of the snow and ice.

Alfie Hill, 69, who the News yesterday revealed had not left his flat in The Inch for more than three weeks, said: "It's a completely unreasonable thing to say and a pathetic excuse from a useless council. How can elderly people be expected to perform shovelling? The council is neglecting its duty and passing the buck."

Tory councillor Jason Rust, who represents Colinton and Fairmilehead, said his fellow councillor's comments were "appalling", adding that he had received around 300 individual complaints about the council's service.

Temperatures in Edinburgh plummeted to -8C overnight, and around 3mm of snow fell in southern Scotland. A severe weather warning has been issued in the Lothians with 80 per cent chance of extreme weather today.

Several roads in East Lothian closed this morning and yesterday four people were taken to hospital after a collision involving a car and two large goods vehicles in West Lothian.

Retailers' organisation the West End Association is among those who have begun to take matters into their own hands – purchasing a tonne of rock salt after becoming fed-up waiting for council staff.

Chairman Michael Apter said: "We feel we owe it to our customers and to our staff.

"I know people who have lived here for 40 years and they've never seen weather conditions like it. It's disappointing that more businesses and residents have not taken the responsibility to clear their own streets, but the council certainly needs to look at the way it covers the city. Pedestrian routes don't seem to have been prioritised and I think that's disappointing."

Yesterday, council workers were seen gritting the pavements outside the local authority's Waverley Court headquarters, with pavements in and around Princes Street and the Royal Mile also treated.

However, there was anger from residents across the city about streets which had not be gritted since the cold snap began, with locals in Sighthill hitting out at the "treacherous" state of roads and pavements, despite living right next to the city's gritter depot.

Several traffic wardens have reportedly been hospitalised after tripping on slippy pavements and there has been reports that wildcat strike action has been threatened.

Opposition leaders demanded that thousands of council workers be redeployed to help clear snow and make pavements safe.

Councillor Andrew Burns, leader of the Labour group on the city council, called for a probe into the council's response and said it was likely the bin dispute – now in its seventh month – had reduced the authority's ability to redeploy staff. However, the council said some staff had already been re-deployed, adding that bin men were facing enough problems simply collecting rubbish due to the wintry conditions.

Mr Burns said: "There will need to be an investigation into this at some point, but the time for that is in the future. The immediate priority is clearing the streets and the council has thousands of staff that could be redeployed."

The council's winter offensive is being co-ordinated by road services manager Euan Kennedy, a former Scottish rugby international. The council said its fleet of 26 gritters and 12 mini-tractors were operating "around the clock", adding that staff would today begin replenishing the salt bins across the city.

Staff are also being redeployed from street cleaning teams to manually clear snow and ice from priority areas such as residential streets and shopping centres.

City leader Jenny Dawe said: "I am confident that our staff have been putting in maximum effort, working around the clock in the face of the difficult weather conditions, to reduce the impact for those living and working in the city."