Storm clean up continues
The damage left behind by three major storms over the winter has forced West Lothian Council to pay thousands to private contractors to help with the clear up.
Scotland has been battered recently, with high winds
from Storm Arwen in November,
and recent storms Dudley
and Eunice causing severe
damage.
The council has faced a number of emergency tree enquiries caused by the recent storms which
have overtaken the routine work
schedule, while private
contractors have earned £16,000
helping council staff clear fallen trees.
Andy Johnston, countryside manager, gave details of the work
at meetings of the local area committees including Linlithgow,
and Fauldhouse and the Breich
Valley. He said:“We have been dealing with the fallout from the three named storms.
“There have been a number of trees down in the ward,and across the council area.
“The arborist squad has been dealing with that.
“It has had an impact on general maintenance and I’m in the
process of bringing in contractors
to help move the backlog.”
On a brighter note he added: “We are due to go into summer
hours in March and are looking
to start the summer programme of grass cutting at the end of
April.”
A spokesman for the council
confirmed council arborists had been dealing with emergency tree enquiries, so were not
able to undertake their normal
routine enquiries which has
resulted in a backlog of tree related works.