Cut-off villages lash Rotherham Council over snow clearing

Rotherham Borough Council’s focus on main roads during the past fortnight’s gritting operations has led to calls for the area’s farmers to be compensated for becoming part of an official rural response which could be called on again in future.

Villagers claimed this week that they had been neglected by the authority’s gritters and snow ploughs.

And while roads to Hooton Levitt, near Maltby, remained closed until Tuesday—seven days after the area’s heaviest snowfall—residents in Firbeck, Letwell and Gildingwells were helped by a farmer who voluntarily cleared more than five miles of country lanes, rescuing numerous motorists.

Phil Rogers, the landlord at Firbeck’s Black Lion pub, said: “On behalf of myself and all the people of Firbeck I have to extend a heartfelt thanks to John Hollingworth and his team for clearing the roads into Firbeck.

“He went out in the middle of last week and cleared the road from Woodsetts, through Gildingwells and Letwell, to Firbeck, and that offered a lifeline to me and to the villagers who wouldn’t have been able to get out otherwise.

“My business would have been crushed without his help. The council have put no effort into helping the rural communities whatsoever.”

Farmers joined mountain tescue teams and emergency services last week in coming to the aid of stranded motorists on the A57 near South Anston.

Their heavy machinery proved essential in helping free dozens of snowbound vehicles.

Streetpride area manager, Colin Knight, said: “The farmers in the area have got to work helping us to clear the hard-to-reach areas of the borough.

“Their selfless actions have really helped and we’d like to pass on our sincere thanks.”

The borough council’s road-clearing efforts have seen around 300 tonnes of grit spread each day on major routes.

Ten diggers were also hired by the authority this week to help clear the snow.

The chairman of Woodsetts Parish Council, Richard Swann, was among those calling for a formal deal between farmers and the council.

He said: “These people have used days’ worth of labour, their own machinery and their own fuel to dig the borough out of a real hole.

How we coped with the snow . . . SEE THIS WEEK'S ADVERTISER

“Without them, many rural areas would have been completely cut off.

“We’d like to see the council have some kind of system in place where a list of farmers willing to help clear the roads in extreme circumstances are contacted by the authority and somehow compensated for their efforts in return.”

A council spokeswoman said that while the authority had not had formal arrangements in place to employ farmers to help during the recent severe conditions, it was immensely grateful for their voluntary response.

She added: “We have been engaging contractors to supplement snow and ice clearing work and are keen to develop any opportunity to improve how we can respond in future.

“Contact has already been made with local parishes to help identify those farmers who may be willing and able to work with us, and this is being followed up with the farmers themselves.”

Why did we grind to a halt? - Letters, click here.

COMMENT: THE ADVERTISER SAYS

BY ITS very nature weather forecasting is an imprecise science which regularly casts meteorologists in the role of hero or villain and even the court jester.

The snow which brought South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire to a halt last week was followed by freezing conditions which often slowed traffic to a snail’s pace on major routes and made minor roads impassable.

The weather forecasters were the target of further abuse north of the border after the major routes between Glasgow and Edinburgh and further north ground to a halt with heavier-than-predicted snowfalls, leaving motorists stranded in their vehicles for more than 12 hours.

With temperatures falling to -14 in Rotherham gritting has proved impotent and also led to claims by some communities that they have been ignored by the authorities and left to fend for themselves.

In some cases farm machinery has proved more effective than the Rotherham Borough Council equipment, with one hero farmer clearing five miles of country lanes to free the residents of Firbeck, Letwell and Gilldingwells.

And while several people have called for a formal deal between farmers and the local authority in the event of similar heavy snowfalls, elsewhere in the country farmers have been ordered not to get involved in case they damage roads.

The depth of snow which has taken forecasters by surprise has not suppressed community spirit with stories emerging every day of selfless commitment to help those most badly affected by the worst spell of weather for many years.

Rising temperatures predicted for today, over the weekend and possibly into next week have raised hopes of a significant thaw, which brings with it the threat of flooding in susceptible areas.

On the other hand other forecasters have predicted a return to this week’s plummeting temperatures and possibly more snow.

Hero, villain or court jester?

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