Anger over council gritting 'favouritism' claim

Mrs Birkby, a receptionist at Amersham Health Centre, said: "When I asked why the maintenance department had ignored the roads in the rest of the town, I was told that it was the county council who controlled the gritting.
"Why on earth has just a side road leading to the staff car park been so favoured?"
The mother-of-two, of Scholars Way added: "As far as I'm concerned the people of Amersham pay their high council tax and in times like this the whole of Amersham should have been better protected. There's quite a big elderly population here, and it is an issue for them."
Buckinghamshire County Council is responsible for gritting the county's roads. Spokesperson Viv Saunders confirmed the county council, which also fills salt bins for public use on minor roads, had not spread any grit on the entrance.
She added nearby Chiltern Avenue was a 'precautionary route' so would have been gritted and King George V Road was a 'secondary route' and would be done following the gritting of the main roads.
Chiltern District Council spokesperson Rachel Prance said the council had not had any special preference. She said: "The grit used was from existing salt in the small grit bins we have in our car park. Our caretaker (a CDC employee) cleaned the snow off himself and then sprinkled the grit on by hand using a shovel.
"The reason we have gritted the entrance to our car park is so that staff can get in, open up the offices and offer our residents as full a service as possible. Many of our staff have come a long way to get in and ensure that business is as normal as possible."