Whitby's icy pavements: councillor calls for meeting

Sheet ice at Whitby's Market Square - many parts of the town were similarly treacherous.
picture: Alan Wastell. — Sheet ice at Whitby's Market Square - many parts of the town were similarly treacherous. picture: Alan Wastell.

A Whitby councillor has called for a meeting to discuss the lethal state of the town’s icy pavements during the recent cold snap.

Cllr Phil Trumper, who sits on both the county and borough councils, contacted highways and asked them to take immediate action as snow and ice which had frozen to pavements had left them in a treacherous state.

"Like all other residents in Whitby, I am extremely disappointed with the lack of action taken to salt the roads and pavements in Whitby,” he said.

“I received calls from constituents who were unable to get back into town, residents shocked and scared at the road conditions they were having to contend with.

Frozen waters at the River Esk, near Ruswarp.
picture: Alan Wastell — Frozen waters at the River Esk, near Ruswarp. picture: Alan Wastell

Cllr Trumper received further calls over the weekend about the state of the pavements and the poor situation in the Market Square where traders were unable to set up.

"I emailed highways and requested they take immediate action,” he added.

"Whitby has an elderly population who food shop daily and it is a peak trading period for local businesses but unfortunately I did not get a positive response."

Many residents took to Facebook over the weekend to voice their disgust at the state of the paths and other public areas.

One said: “It’s disgusting the amount of local people who have fallen over on the ice and injured themselves" while another added: “Just some grit boxes with some in them would be a great big help.”

Richard Marr, highways area manager, welcomed a meeting with Cllr Trumper to discuss the council’s winter operations and how they should best reflect the needs of the community.

“We have a robust winter gritting service and our policy is continually reviewed,” he said.

"The safety of our residents is the top priority, so please be assured that our gritting teams work around the clock to respond to poor conditions on roads, cycleways and pavements.

“Coastal parts of the county were badly affected during the recent cold spell.

"The conditions meant that the salt had little impact on the compacted ice and snow.

"Our necessary focus on the road network meant that, like other highways authorities around the country, our resources were stretched and we struggled to treat the footways before the snow got compacted down.

"We are looking at ways to address this for the future.”