Horwich: Residents' concerns after grit bins left empty

The issue is said to affect neighbours living in and around around St Leonard’s Avenue in Horwich.

Paul Howard lives on St Leonard’s Avenue, a hilly road which he says  makes it dangerous to use in icy conditions.

He also raised concerns over the safety of children walking on the paths as there is a school nearby.

Two of six bins in the area have now been filled, but he is still concerned that the bins weren't filled between December 7 and January 18, when the cold snap hit.

Paul said: “They filled two out of the six.

Paul Howard is unhappy that the bins weren't filled (Image: Paul Howard)

“They (the council) also emailed me saying they last checked the bins on December 7.

“It’s a really steep hill down onto a road getting to and from  the school. Two hundred or so kids use that road.”

Read more: Calls for grit bins to be restocked as cold snap bites

He added: “The fact that in over a month they hadn’t filled them, I’ve lived here for 14 years, they always refilled them after a bit of cold and icy weather.

“I appreciate councils are under pressure to cut costs, but at the price of safety? People are going down in their cars very gingerly.

“I think it’s bonkers that they weren’t checked in over a month.

“They were only replenished on January 18, so that’s almost 50 days where they’ve not checked them.”

St Leonard's Avenue during the recent snowy weather. Paul said the driver of the car in the photo couldn't get up the street and had to leave it there (Image: Paul Howard)

He added: “There is another grit bin at the top of St Leonards Avenue that hasn't been filled, and there’s another slope from Wilson Fold Avenue, where it gets very icy.

“People normally use that grit bin to throw grit onto the slope. They couldn’t get up on it last Wednesday morning.

“One lady had tried to get up in her car but couldn’t get up so left it there.

Read more: Calls for grit changes after cold snap leaves cars sliding into each other

"Once I notified them, I got the standard response, ‘we’ve got 500 grit bins to fill’, but they had 50 days near enough to fill them since the icy weather we had in December.

“Lo and behold, when we need it again, it’s not replaced.”

Cllr Kevin McKeon of Horwich North East said: “Usually the grit bins are regularly filled after icy or snowy events.

“I’ve spoken to the officers in the council on Mr Howard’s behalf and the other residents I’ve spoken to.

Cllr Kevin McKeon has raised the issue with council officials (Image: Bolton Council)

“I was assured all the grit bins would be filled by the council and was disappointed when I found out that wasn’t the case.

“I  contacted officers again to find why some of them have been left unfilled.

Read more: Emergency appeal to raise money to buy grit salt after falls

He added: “The recent weather has been of great concern, particularly on roads which have a dangerous slope like St Leonard’s Avenue.

“I’m not sure whether this is the case, but increasingly the council is under financial stress, which means that some of the services that we’ve come to rely on have come under great strain.

“Us councillors, we need to investigate whether this is a factor as well.”

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “All the grit bins in Bolton have been refilled at least twice, some three times since the beginning of December up to the end of last week (Friday 20 January). 

“The ones on St Leonard's and surrounding streets (six bins in total) were filled on 7 December. Then again between 19 December and Friday 20 January.”

This comes after councillors in Little Lever and Rumworth called for grit bins to be refilled.