Gritty debate over legal pitfalls of treating icy pavements  in Leighton Buzzard

Following legal advice, Leighton-Linslade Town Council took the decision last year not to supplement Central Bedfordshire Council’s (CBC) gritting in the area. Parish and town councils can enter a delegation agreement to be able to grit roads and footpaths outside of CBC’s priority network.

At CBC’s full meeting on Thursday (November 24) councillor Victoria Harvey (Independent, Linslade) asked the council’s leader, councillor Richard Wenham, to use his influence to try to persuade the town council to look again at its decision.

Councillor Ray Berry (Conservative, Leighton Buzzard South), who is also a Leighton Linslade town councillor, said: “Councillor Harvey has this little thing in her mind that says we can grit.”

“[The] last time it snowed or iced in Leighton Linslade market she went out to Central Bedfordshire and convinced one of the officers… to give her a bag of grit.

“She got two other councillors and several other people to go out and spread that grit on the High Street.

“The sole purpose of the grit at the end of the day was to get washed away in the next full rainfall and damage the nature within our local stream.

“It didn’t do anything in terms of the job that she wanted to do,” he said.

Councillor Berry added that councillor Harvey attended the town council meeting when the decision was made.

“The debate was quite simple: are we insured to do this? Answer no,” councillor Berry said.

“Do we wish to extend our insurance to do this? Answer no. Because quite simply the scope of what we have to do here is a moving feast.

“If we start off with the high street, then we’ve got to grit all the way down towards Tesco which is where a lot of people park and so on.

“If we employ amateurs to do this, quite simply we will end up with an amateur job, we are not as a town council going to do this,” he said.

Councillor Harvey said: “The town council has received legal advice, I wish and I will beg you [councillor Wenham] to ask your officers to properly examine that legal advice.

“All I want is a solution so our elderly residents don’t fall over and break their legs when trying to access the town centre.

“Or do we have to cancel every single event and every shop when it is icy this winter, ” she asked.

Council leader, councillor Richard Wenham (Conservative, Arlesey) said: “I understand how passionate you are about the issue.

“There is a route for town and parish councils to engage directly with Central Bedfordshire Council officers.

“It’s not for Central Bedfordshire to try and impose a view on a particular town or parish council.

“I will say to you, you’re a member of the town council, encourage them to go and look at the legal advice again.

“But that is a responsibility entirely with Leighton Linslade Town Council; it has nothing to do with Central Bedfordshire,” he said.