Deborah Coleman at Wicklow County Council meeting Council’s plan to cope with severe weather incidents
WICKLOW County Council appears to be in good shape in terms of its preparation for severe weather incidents this winter, members were informed at their Monday meeting.
A report from Michael Flynn, senior engineer in the Roads Section outlined that the Winter Maintenance Plan is in place from October 15 to April 29 and that there are nine gritting routes outlined covering 500km of the county’s roads.
There are five salt depots dotted around the county and there are 2,500 tonnes of salt in stock with a further 1,000 tonnes on order, bringing stocks to almost full capacity which is 4,000 tonnes.
He said that a budget of €800,000 is allocated to the plan and that last year the council was called out on 70 occasions to various incidents. ‘It’s not an exact science,’ Mr Flynn said, but he appeared confident with the plan in place for winter 2018/19.
Cllr Chris Fox expressed concern about routes which straddle two municipal district areas and asked for a better coordinated approach to gritting as very often ‘half of a route is open and the other half is impassable’.
‘Could an agreement be reached with staff to take a road in its entirety?’ he asked.
A similar concern was raised by Cllr Vincent Blake who asked what agreements are in place with neighbouring local authorities in Wexford and Carlow, as roads in his area cross the border from Wicklow.
It was confirmed that this would be addressed by Wicklow County Council.
Wicklow Fire Service Chief Aidan Dempsey and Civil Defence Chief Michael Richardson also made presentations to members outlining the coordinated approach taken in cases of extreme weather and what resources are available.