Cumwhitton: Accident fears over Cumbrian road gritting cutbacks

Villagers in Cumwhitton say untreated icy roads have already seen several crashes

A reduction in gritting on some Cumbrian roads has caused accidents and is a risk to life, residents have warned.

One councillor said there had been a "scandalous" lack of consultation and he was "ashamed of Cumberland Council".

The local authority said it was treating more roads overall under its new winter policy.

It said it would consider adding roads to its gritting routes where issues had arisen.

Daphne Mark, from Cumwhitton, near Carlisle, said roads in her area had been gritted "at least for the last 30 years," but the council had "taken (the service) away".

Fellow resident Emily Pearson said the company operating her son's school bus had refused to come to the village because of icy roads.

"There's been several crashes. There's been several near incidents. It's not going to be long before somebody is seriously hurt," she said.

'Monumental failure'

Cumberland Council said its predecessor, Cumbria County Council, had initiated a review of gritting routes, aiming to achieve speed and value for money.

The county council was replaced in 2023 by Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, and both signed off a new winter service policy following the review.

Resident Emily Pearson fears people could be seriously hurt

Cumberland Council said it now treated more roads overall under its new policy, but some roads had been given higher priority, and others lower priority, than before.

It means some roads that had been routinely gritted in icy weather are only treated when "prolonged" freezing temperatures are expected.

Roger Dobson, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Corby and Hayton, said there had been no consultation about the move.

"I'm not just angry, I'm ashamed of Cumberland Council," he said.

"That there has been a monumental failure in communication and consultation is scandalous."

The Labour-led council said it had started gritting the lower priority routes.

Councillor Denise Rollo, executive member for sustainable, resilient and connected places, said the council had "inherited" the issue.

"What we are saying to councillors and residents and parish councils is where they are finding areas that they do think need gritting, we can either get salt bins to them or we can have a look at adding them to the routes," she added.