In what Liberal Democrat Councillors are labelling as a mean-spirited move the Conservative-run County Council has vetoed a move to allow all schools in Hertfordshire to ask for gritting salt to help keep school routes and schools open.

Only those schools more than 100 metres from a County Council designated salt gritting route can apply for free salt from the Council.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst proposed at Monday’s Highways Panel at County Hall that all schools, irrespective of their location, should be able to  get the salt to help them. His plan, backed by Labour, was voted down by the Conservatives.

“This is mean spirited and means a two tier system. Many urban schools in town centres are within 100 metres of a gritting route but the roads and pavements next to schools are not part of that because they are on a side road. This creates a hazard for children so even if the school and parents wanted to help out they would have to find the
salt and grit themselves. That is wrong!” said Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst.

“This is frankly a disgrace especially as the Council has a massive stock and has even been offered free of charge a large amount from Tesco who have an over supply! I am demanding they rethink this refusal. I cannot see any justification for refusing requests from schools for salt to grit the pavements,” Stephen concluded.