Jubilee Event Guide
Grit Bins
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Does anyone know if we have any Grit bins on the Bankeyfields estate other than the ones at the bottom of John Rhodes Way...
Does anyone know if we have any Grit bins on the Bankeyfields estate other than the ones at the bottom of John Rhodes Way and Spitfire.
I've just checked those three and theres a small amount of grit in spitfire, and a couple of glass bottles and a spec of sand in the John Rhodes Way bins.
If there are, can you check them, and let me know via the web site, and we can see about getting them replenished sharpish.
If we can have gritters on the estate, the very least our council tax should go towards is having the bins filled up. Even if no one has got around to adopting the estate.
Comments
Only two bins
You are correct only
twothree grit bins on the estate. At the November NHW , Megan did say she was going to ask the council if we could have some more. Must chase her up . Err is that the correct phrase ?.Fast track
Hiya Steve
As to chasing Megan up with an email, I fired one off (is that the right term
) earlier today, to see if she can fast track some grit for us.
Howdy, Due to the ice there
Howdy,
Due to the ice there was a collosion on the road outside my house last night. So I've totally emptied the dregs out of the grit bins on Swallows Rise and sprinkled most of the junctions around the estate.
This morning (24/12) I've rang the council (Tel: 234234 ) to advise the bin are empty.
The chap informed me the council are about to top up all the bins in the city, and put a request to have Swallows Rise & Spitfire Way at the top of the list.
Fingers crossed!
Give them a call, it might help.
Merry Christmas!
Staffs Police - Snow Driving advisory
Snow Driving – Be Prepared
Wintry showers are forecast to affect Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire over the next few days and police are urging motorists to make sure they are prepared for winter driving. Drivers are being urged to do a few simple checks on their vehicles before setting of in wintry conditions.
Check that the screen wash is regularly filled and the solution contains additives to prevent it freezing
Check that all lights are clean and working properly
Make sure all windows and mirrors are clean and before driving off make sure you vision is clear and the windows are de-misted
Check the tyre conditions and that they are correctly inflated
Always ensure that you have a warm coat in the car, in case things go wrong
When the weather gets worse, allow extra time for your journey, and keep extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you
Keep to the left in queuing traffic to allow emergency vehicles to get past
Use the appropriate lights, just because it is snowing, does not mean you need to use fog lights. Only use front or rear fog lights when visibility is less than 100 meters
Plan your journey.
Sgt Ian Revans said: “It is amazing how each year people are surprised by cold weather. Many motorists find themselves unable to deal with the conditions because their vehicles aren’t prepared and they don’t allow sufficient time to complete their journey. One of the best tips we can give to motorists is to make sure they have plenty of fuel, the last thing anyone needs in extremely cold weather is to run out of fuel.”
Web Monkey wrote:Does anyone
[quote=Web Monkey]Does anyone know if we have any Grit bins on the Bankeyfields estate other than the ones at the bottom of John Rhodes Way and Spitfire.
I've just checked those three and theres a small amount of grit in spitfire, and a couple of glass bottles and a spec of sand in the John Rhodes Way bins.
If there are, can you check them, and let me know via the web site, and we can see about getting them replenished sharpish.
If we can have gritters on the estate, the very least our council tax should go towards is having the bins filled up. Even if no one has got around to adopting the estate.
View Larger Map[/quote]
Grit For All
Regarding the grit bins, now that the council gritter no longer comes on to the whole estate due to a complaint raised in a previous year, I would urge anyone using the grit from the bins not to just grit their driveway but to also throw some grit on the road. Seems a bit silly to have all the driveways on the estate clear of snow and ice and the roads frozen and dangerous. That is if we do get anymore grit this year.
Gritter
BJ the story about the complaint about the gritter was a tall tale made up over centuries where people added a bit on to make it sound more authentic.
I believe it stopped due the ongoing Adoption Issue
Gordy
Still no grit
There is still no grit in the bins. Come on all e mail the council
rebate
Is it true that we aren't getting the grit bins sorted out because we still haven't been adopted by our beloved city council.? If that's the case aren't we due rebate! For heavens sake just what is the hold up? I thought the neighbourhoodwatch were sorting this for us.
Reported
I have reported to the council the state of the estate and that it desperately needs gritting (I have been trapped in since Saturday as my road is just a sheet of ice) and that the grit bins further round the estate are empty. They did say they were very busy so I'm not holding out much hope!
Job reference number : 1609510
Zoey
Empty
Empty still. I did a quick check on the second John Rhodes bin (the most crucial in my opinion as this one goes towards clearing the speed hump).
I did get my hopes up thinking we'd got some, as the area was clear of snow, and had rock salt debris littered about. But the fella who lives next to it has his own stash (so if you see him you can thank him, as he's been using it on his drive and also on the speed hump).
If anyone hasn't phoned the council or emailed your local Tunstall Councillor please do so. It's a case of who can shout the loudest.
His own personal one via a
His own personal one via a DIY shop or via the council grit box!
DIY
DIY
Grit Bins
Hi every one, just to let you know that I have now reported your grit bins twice and I know that the e-mail and attached photos that Matt sent to me were forwarded to a Bob Brock in the council last week. I am sorry for the delay in getting your bins filled and will try to find out what the problem is. Let me reassure you that it has nothing to do with you being unadopted because yours are not the only ones in Tunstall that are empty.
Can I just take this oppurtunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year and looking forward to seeing you all in 2010
Cheers Megan, you can only
Cheers Megan, you can only do so much. At the end of the day, if the inner workings of other departments aren't working what can you, myself and all others who've been onto the council do.
Bob it looks like it's too late for the person involved in the car accident yesterday, but if you can get some grit for the bins we'd be very grateful. Hopefully next year, plans will be better placed and summer time requests for grit in bins could maybe meet before not after their purpose is required.
In fact I think every one from the estate and Tunstall needs to be asking the road transport department for a review of their handling of the situation. It's not been that bad so far, but a bit of pre-planning and reacting to calls wouldn't go a miss.
Anyway, please take a look at Bob's new toys State of the Art Gritters that can't be used that much because they cost so much that theres now no money for the actual grit.
Unelected council officials
I hate to keep on about these things but, I have always been told that the elected officials are there to make sure that the unelected officials do the jobs that the voters require. If this is not the case and the unelected officials are telling the elected officials what they will and will not do then why are we electing them in the first place. This debate appears to be highlighting extremely large problems within the council departments, when are we going to hear from this elected official that all who attend the meetings speak so highly of. I hate to be so cynical; however, if this is how Stoke-on-Trent City Council is run I am not surprised that the City is in such a state. I think it is about time that employees of the council learned that they are employed to work for the people of the City, after all we do pay their wages.
Megans response, just before Christmas
Hi Rich, either scroll up, or click the link below
http://www.bankeyfields.co.uk/forum/grit-bins-roads#comment-4030
Totally agree with you though, the balance of power has shifted in the wrong direction, I'd strongly having a read on the PnP site to read some of the problems we are highlighting.
http://www.pitsnpots.co.uk/blog/2009/12/grit-or-not-grit
http://www.pitsnpots.co.uk/news/2009/12/salt-sense-plea-highways-chief
http://www.pitsnpots.co.uk/news/2009/12/cold-weather-way-are-council-pre...
http://www.pitsnpots.co.uk/news/2009/12/highways-team-provide-around-clo... (funny this one as the helpline believed they were short staffed)
http://www.pitsnpots.co.uk/news/2009/12/drivers-urged-take-extra-care-wi... (because the roads aren't gritted)
Ice open space DANGER
All please be aware that all the paths and play area on the open space are completly covered in sheet ice. It is impossible to stand up you need to walk on the grass.
Sledging
The park area and walkways were perfect for sledging over the past few days. My son was extremely unhappy to see the thaw. More snow is desperately required. Perhaps we should all keep some council tax back and pay to grit the roads ourselves!!!!!
grit
i stopped a council van driving down john rhodes way last monday 21st, hoping he was on the estate to check the grit bins. he was actually from playgrounds, but he was very nice. i explained the problems to him and the road was extremely icy at the time. at first he said i should ring the council on 234567. but then he rung his bosses for me. he told them we needed the bins filling, and that the bin on the speed hump was too small and needed changing for a larger one. they did actually fill it up that afternoon (well half filled it) but a larger one hasn't arrived yet. i rung them again xmas eve and was assured that they were going to be filled again that afternoon, but they never did. rung again today and they said they weren't due to be filled again, but she'd put a note on screen asking for them to be filled urgently!! we'll see!!
To the lady asking whether we are stocking up on grit from the bins,
No we are not!!
we are constantly buying grit at our own expense. we try to keep the speed bump clear as well as gritting our drive and the corner of our road. i have asked the council whether they're going to reimburse us for the cost of the grit
Got any Cat Litter?
Apparently sales of cat litter in super markets has soared over the past few weeks as the general public has been buying it as an alternative to rock salt.
Has anyone else got any alternative ways of clearing the snow (and yes I'll expect a shovel as alternative - but you can't even buy these in Focus at the minute)
Beach Shovels
You may not be able to get a "adult shovel" but I am sure Toys R Us will probably now be selling "kids beach shovels"!
Shovels
I saw a wagon being driven through Stoke with a picture of a shovel on the side - obviously one shop or another will have received a new delivery of them today - just need to figure out which shop
IS Quartermasters still open Hanley?
I wonder if they have any surplus World War Two flame throwers. Brilliant for tackling snow and ice, and better still you can use it in the summer to bbq your food.
Shhh - Grit in the grit bins
I've just had a nosey in the bins on John Rhodes Way and there is some fine powdery grey stuff in the grit bins. In fact on first inspection of the roads you'd not know it's been gritted.
I hope the rest of Tunstall are now getting their bins filled, and not just us because we make a lot of noise. But if it is, well Tunstall you know where to post.
P.S. this grit is a fine powder so it looks really hard to pinch. Also the grit bins have been mined with anti personal mines which are set to go off if the bins are moved.
Save me some
Do me a favour and put a couple of bucketfuls aside for me, I'll clear the road again and put some down up by me.
The roads not looking too
The roads not looking too bad at the moment, Janet. I think the binmen threw a load of grit on the corner which has done it's business during the day and is now completely clear. The rest of the road is very slushy now. Outside your's looks ok thanks to all your hard work yesterday - your a little superstar and I haven't forgotten about your slice of cheesecake!
Cheese Cake
Lisa, I know the bit of road I tried to clear doesn't effect you, and I didn't do anywhere near as good a job as Janet, but I really love cheese cake
But this is no ordinary
But this is no ordinary cheesecake - it's a very special homemade cheesecake. Totally gorgeous, and incredibly bad for you! Will make one for the next neighbourhood watch meeting
Mouth watering
Gulp, my mouth is totally watering and my tummy has told me it now needs to finish work and be fed.
I'll be putting that on the flyers you know to entice people out of the cold and to the meeting.
However I'll meet you at the door on the night to just do a quick health and safety check on the said cake, to see if it's safe for general consumption
Oooo
Ooo, I'd forgotten about that, I'll be over later
Thanks 
Council U-Turn on grit
Part of the story has been lifted from the sentinel, please follow the link at the bottom of the quote to read the full story.
Big freeze leads to U-turn on grit
PLANS to save £100,000 a year by gritting just 25 per cent of Stoke-on-Trent's roads have been scrapped.
Highways officers in the city had planned to save the cash by cutting the city council's gritting coverage from 37 per cent to just one quarter of roads .
But the council will now keep the coverage at current levels after complaints from motorists and residents during this month's big freeze.
The gritting cutback had been included in the council's plan to save £45 million over the next three years.
Staffordshire County Council has already scrapped its plan to save £300,000 a year by cutting its gritting coverage from 43 per cent to 37 per cent, despite needing to make £20 million cuts.
In Stoke-on-Trent, the number of roads gritted in the city can rise to 46 per cent at certain times of the year.
A council report states: "The recent cold weather has reminded us of the importance of providing an effective gritting service to maintain the effective operation of the city and the safety of local people."
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Big-freeze-leads-U-turn-grit/a...
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