Cranbrook residents speak out as ice and gritting concerns grow in East Devon

A grumble over gritting has emerged in Devon’s newest town, with claims that more needs to be done to help residents.

Icy conditions in Cranbrook have been met with a flurry of disgruntled comments from residents, some of whom claim certain roads and pavements have been left ungritted.

READ NEXT: Exeter City all set to take on the biggest challenge in world football

A professional dog walker in the town, who runs Cranbrook PetCare, said her car “spun a full circle on the biggest sheet of black ice” in a post on Facebook.

“I was so lucky there were no other cars around and that I managed to steer into a kerb.”

She added that she saw “people fall over” and, given her job, “can’t risk that myself” because of the need to stay in control of the dogs she walks.

“It’s a disgrace how dangerous it is,” she said, adding: “The developers have a lot to answer for.”

Others have said police described the black ice around Cranbrook and other areas as some of the worst they have seen for some time. There was also a report of a collision between a car and a bus caused by ice, in which it is understood nobody was seriously hurt.

Even the town’s MP, David Reed (Conservative), has fielded numerous complaints from residents and has criticised a social media post from East Devon District Council suggesting some roads had been gritted by developers.

Mr Reed said he had received a “high volume of correspondence”, including reports of falls and injuries.

“The core problem is that many of these routes are unadopted, meaning responsibility for gritting is unclear in practice, despite heavy use and ongoing freezing temperatures,” he said in a social media post earlier this week.

“The result is a situation where everyone can explain why it is someone else’s job, while local people are left at risk.”

East Devon District Council said it believed all main roads through Cranbrook were gritted “whether adopted or not”.

“Adopted roads have been gritted by Devon County Council, and unadopted roads have been gritted by developers and, more recently, Cranbrook Town Council.”

However, Mr Reed questioned this, asking whether the council was “sure” that unadopted roads had been gritted by developers.

Councils are only required to grit roads they are responsible for, known as ‘adopted’ roads.

However, not every adopted road will automatically be gritted, as councils usually prioritise major routes and those used by buses and emergency services.

Many of the roads in Cranbrook that residents say have been left ungritted are ‘unadopted’, meaning they are still owned by the landowner or housing developer. As such, the council has no requirement to grit them.

Councillor Kevin Blakey (Independent, Cranbrook), a member of East Devon District Council, said gritting had been taking place in the town, but complaints were mainly coming from residents on side roads and about pavements.

“But I don’t know anywhere that grits side roads and pavements,” he said.

“Gritting is an extremely expensive operation.”

Cllr Blakey added that Devon County Council had a budget for gritting, but given financial pressures in various areas, it was unlikely to be able to afford a significant expansion of its gritting operation.

“The cash for that would have to come from council taxpayers, and I think people would be unhappy to pay a lot more money for a solution to a problem that only lasts for a few days a year.”

He suggested there were “one or two roads that have not been adopted where gritting could be appropriate”, but said that when ice warnings are in place, it is important for people to take necessary precautions.

A spokesperson for the consortium behind Cranbrook, which includes Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon, said: “We are sorry to hear about the challenges residents have been facing during the recent icy conditions.

“Developers in Cranbrook follow established local authority gritting policy and priorities, and do not treat roads that the council would not grit once they have been adopted.

“We recognise this is a difficult situation for some residents and apologise for any inconvenience during this cold period.”

Responsibility for gritting roads in Devon falls to Devon County Council, which has legal duties under the Highways Act 1980.

The law states it is “under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice”.

The Local Government Association says UK councils are responsible for around 225,000 miles of road, but that it would cost “hundreds of millions of extra pounds to grit all roads”.

Cranbrook Town Council said that while it does not have a statutory duty to grit roads, it had taken “practical steps where we could”.

“This has included arranging and funding gritting on some unadopted roads along key routes, despite them not being in our ownership,” it said in a Facebook post.

“As a town council, our funding and staffing are limited, and we do not receive a budget or equipment for county-level road gritting services or for purchasing and distributing grit bags at present.

“Any action taken by the town council is therefore discretionary and limited in scope.

“We continue to raise residents’ concerns with Devon County Council.”

East Devon District Council said Cranbrook Town Council had been helping with winter gritting arrangements and that, although it is “not the responsible authority”, it had received one enquiry from a Cranbrook resident about the issue.