Weather Forecast
Between Friday and Sunday, the latest forecast from the Met Office states that the cold weather will continue, though it should be mostly dry with sunshine by day and some very severe frosts by night. There is a chance of rain or snow later on Boxing Day (Sunday). The longer range forecast is less certain but the Met Office predicts that conditions are expected to give way to outbreaks of rain and sleet, preceded by snow for many areas in the period between Christmas and New Year.
To minimise service disruption the Council is putting in place arrangements to ensure that services continue as normally as possible during the Christmas/ New Year period.
Highways Preparations
Highways staff will be working to ensure that all priority routes remain open throughout the Bank Holiday period, as well as car parks, Park and Ride sites, and key footways during this busy time for shopping and travelling.
We are relatively well-placed in terms of grit supplies compared to other areas and we today received a delivery of grit that will support salting throughout the Christmas/ New Year period. This is based upon gritting in normal winter conditions with careful planning and prioritisation of our stocks. The Council is engaging with suppliers and has placed orders for further grit, which are subject to the national demands on the salt supply chain. Highways staff have contingency plans in place if the weather significantly deteriorates. We may need to consider prioritising our use of salt.
Waste Collection Preparations
The Council has already issued advice to households on what to do if their waste collection is missed. This is available on our website. Staff will be working on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th December weather permitting to clear the backlog of collections from earlier this week.
The waste collection points that have been set-up will continue through the period and usage will be monitored by staff - the locations are available on our website. Additional vehicles and containers have been laid on to cope with the backlog and an anticipated increase in waste following the Christmas period. Extra staff will be working at the transfer stations to cope with this additional waste. Garden waste collection will continue to be suspended to allow extra resources to be put into the collection of domestic waste.
Vulnerable Adult Preparations
Adult social services have contingency plans in place for the Christmas/ New Year period. If there is severe weather during the holiday period and any resulting problems with home care services or services for adults with learning difficulties, personal contact will be made with anyone who is expecting a service. This contact will be made by their care provider and they would be kept updated throughout the day. Contingency arrangements are in place to reach clients living in difficult locations. Social care staff are on call 24 hours a day. If there are concerns about service provision they can be contacted through the St. Martins switchboard on
01225 831500.
There will be a Community Meals Service over the Christmas/ New Year period. This will operate on normal business days and clients will be offered a frozen meal for Bank Holidays and those days when a personal delivery is not scheduled to take place. Those people unable to cook a frozen meal will be supported by their carers.
Other Service Preparations
It is anticipated that all other services that would operate during this period will run as normal and all have contingency plans in place to address severe weather conditions.
Communications
The Council will be issuing an update on its website every single day except Christmas Day and an update via Twitter will be issued at the same time. Subscribing to the Council’s Twitter Feed is the quickest way for residents to receive the latest information about our services – www.twitter.com/bathnes
