A TASK force of community volunteers wielding hand-held gritters could become a familiar sight in Frodsham this winter as they tackle treacherous icy pavements in the town.
Arctic weather during the last fortnight has seen people taking grit from council grit bins, leading Cheshire West and Chester council councillor Andrew Dawson to call for action to be taken.
“They have been filled, but people are stealing the grit already, and this is another reason why having something very specific and very local could be the solution,” he said.
Cllr Dawson has pledged to use some of the annual £5,000 discretionary budget available to him as a borough councillor to purchase a ton of sand and grit from CWaC to treat pavements in the town centre shopping area, outside care homes and on main approaches to all four primary schools.
He said Frodsham Leisure Centre staff had already offered their help with gritting, and he hoped school teams of staff, caretakers or parents, would consider organising their own rotas to support the scheme he says could be up and running within the next week or two.
In the longer term, Cllr Dawson said he was also investigating whether the quad bikes used by CWaC during the summer for highway weeding could be used to boost community gritting schemes.
“Some of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Streetscene staff live locally and perhaps they could be involved in this, going round with quad bike fitted with a gritting trailer in the early mornings.
“Perhaps it could be stored in Castle Park,” he said.
