More grit bins needed!

The number of bins in Fife were reduced following a public consultation two years ago to make savings but some think Fife Council went too far.

Dunfermline North councillor Gavin Ellis said some residents were putting themselves in "danger" to get to grit bins, particularly in parts of Townhill.

"There are quite few cul-de-sacs where people are walking down hills to get to grit bins and this week I'm going to check whether yellow bins could be moved to more sensible locations," the Conservative councillor told the Press.

"Some people are having to put themselves in danger to get to bins.

"I know these conditions happen only a few days of the year but the administration seem have made a decision and is just not willing to go back and look at it again to see if it was right.

"Some more grit bins are required – just taking them away and not relocating some was senseless.

"Fife Council staff on the ground are doing the best they can but it would be helped if the public could get help by accessing grit bins in better locations."

Concerns have been raised in places such as Pitcorthie and Abbeyview and it's been claimed that, at Kingfisher Place, two cars nearly crashed due to unsafe paths and roads because grit bins were empty.

Dunfermline South councillor James Calder said the council also needed to look back at where grit bins had been removed.

"If Fife Council is not going to grit every area then they need to give the public the resources to help support them," the Liberal Democrats councillor said.

"There are areas which did used to have grit bins that are causing concern for locals.

"It was obviously going to have an impact and it was short-sighted.

"Quite a lot of people are saying that grit bins are empty too and people need to be assured that they will be filled before they are needed."

Conservative group leader Dave Dempsey added: "Bins were dotted around haphazardly and a lot of them seemed to be close together.

"I think the council was too aggressive at moving them. There needs to be more grit bins back but on a location-by-location basis – not exactly where they were before."

Derek Crowe, senior manager, roads and transportation services, said: “As part of a service review, we carried out a public consultation two years ago, which included elected members, about the number of grit bins in Fife along with their locations and how often they were used.

"Following the feedback, and in line with our statutory responsibilities, the grit bin inventory was reshaped to meet the locations with greatest need and at a sustainable level that we could both afford and logistically arrange refilling within a reasonable time.

"Fife Council has an extensive road gritting network that covers around 59 per cent of Fife’s roads.

"Grit bins are located in areas that are not on the priority gritting routes and, like all such things, there is a limited resource, and we continue to review the inventory and any new requests.

“We’re keen to encourage people, if they’re looking to treat the public paths and roads where they stay, to make better use of the grit bins already out there rather than introducing new ones.

"We’re also happy to move grit bins around if this helps.

"Please just get in touch with us if you'd like us to move a grit bin by filling in our 'Report a Road Fault' form which you can find at https://www.fife.gov.uk/services/report-it-online Select the ‘Road maintenance and reporting' option and, once in the form, select ‘Grit Bins’."