Council to receive ‘few bob’ from DfI Roads

Members of the Environmental Services Committee agreed unanimously to a further three year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) after the previous MOU ended last winter.

The MOU states: ‘It is anticipated that footways will generally only be considered for treatment after significant snow or ice events although there may be occasions when footways could be pre-treated if freezing is forecast following heavy rain.

‘It is appreciated that neither DfI Roads nor Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council have a statutory obligation to salt footways and are not resourced for this work but under this MOU footway clearance and salt/grit spreading may be undertaken by DfI Roads and/or Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council staff, depending on resources available at the time.’

The administration fee council will receive from DfI each year was described by DUP Councillor Alan McLean as ‘a few bob’, with the Ballymoney councillor adding: “It isn’t a large amount of money yet again that they are offering us. We do all the work and they throw in a few bob to try and pacify us.

“If we did have a severe week or two of snow that wouldn’t go very far in helping it out but overall it’s something we need to do.”

SDLP Councillor Orla Beattie added: “Could someone clarify for me the issue around car parks, especially the ones we own. When you go into one in the morning and there is a layer of snow you can’t even see the spaces.”

Director of Environmental Services Adian McPeake responded: “The council provides the service of gritting our own car parks, similar to what we do around our civic buildings and our household recycling centres are done in the same way so that’s the service the council provides.”

Members agreed unanimously to sign up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DFI Roads Service for a further three years.