"Snow-bound" after council demands £1,000 for grit bin (From Wimbledon Guardian)

"Snow-bound" after Surrey County Council demands £1,000 for grit bin

9:00am Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in News By Alice Foster, Reporter

A woman whose car slid into a parked car on Saturday has slammed Surrey County Council (SCC) for demanding £1,000 for a grit bin for her road snow-bound street.

Susan Palin, 49, who lives in Elmshorn, Epsom, said the road was an ice rink and the nearest grit bin was a ‘treacherous’ walk away at the bottom of Montrouge Crescent.

On Monday Mrs Palin said: "It’s just a nightmare. I did ring the council this morning and they said you can have your own grit bin but it costs £1,000."

The next day Mrs Palin said county councillor Nick Harrison called to say he is looking into getting a grit bin at the top of the hill and moving the bin at the bottom up a bit.

She added: "So, hopefully a good result."

On Saturday Mrs Palin and her husband went out in the car to drop off a note and flowers to a friend, who had fallen in the snow and broken her wrist.

But although he was driving very slowly the car still slid into another car on Elmshorn at the corner with Montrouge Crescent.

Mrs Palin said: "The car just glided and slid into a car parked there. There are problems in the cul-de-sac every time the snow comes."

Mrs Palin said two years ago she could not access their road at all due to snow, so she parked her car in nearby Rose Bushes where another car slammed into it.

She said: "It’s dangerous for my kids to get to school. We are completely snow-bound."

A Surrey County Council spokeswoman said: “We have 1,741 grit bins around Surrey to help local communities.

"We get a lot of requests for new bins but as we only have limited resources we have to place them at strategic locations where they will be most effective, such as slopes, difficult road junctions, acute bends and areas busy with pedestrians.

"Cul de sacs don’t often qualify.

“Bins can be bought for £1,000, which covers installation, repair and maintenance plus one fill a year for four years.

"It is generally organisations such as parish councils which buy them, rather than individuals, so the lady concerned might like to see if neighbourhood groups would be interested.”