A COUNCILLOR is calling on the council to improve gritting services.

Pendle County Councillor David Whipp has tabled a resolution for next week's Pendle Council meeting demanding improvements in Lancashire County Council’s winter gritting services.

Cllr Whipp, who has campaigned for decades for improvements to Pennine Lancashire’s snow and ice clearance, and is calling for urgent discussions following the latest spell of bad weather.

He said: "I can’t praise the gritting teams and other people dealing with snow and ice enough, they work in terrible conditions to keep the county moving.

"But the organisation of the service leaves a lot to be desired and appears to be driven by penny pinching rather than providing a snow clearing service.

"I’ve tabled a resolution about the problems for next Thursday’s meeting of Pendle Council and taken the matter up with County Councillor Keith Iddon, Lancashire County Council’s highways’ boss.

"I think the root of the problem is a failure to react quickly enough and energetically enough when we get a prolonged period of icy weather.

"And the recent conditions have exposed quite a few flaws in the county council’s workings.

"People shouldn’t need to be equipped with winter mountaineering gear to get about on the streets of Lancashire.

“Vulnerable residents were left housebound, farmers couldn’t get milk tankers through and businesses ground to a halt.

"This was during a relatively gentle and shortlived icy period. Goodness knows what will happen if we get it really bad this winter.

"Given that the extended icy conditions were accurately forecasted, Lancashire County Council should have begun gritting secondary routes much earlier than they did, called in private contractors much sooner and activated ‘mutual aid’ agreements with district councils more quickly.

"It’s also worrying that some routes that should have been gritted weren’t and residents and road users question if the amount of salt been put down by gritters was enough for the conditions.

”I’m calling for an urgent meeting with the county council to discuss all these issues and to come up with some answers and, hopefully, improvements."