Almond Neighbourhood Partnership

Updates from the West Neighbourhood Manager

We are currently dealing with a level of snowfall not experienced since 1965. I have had
to divert some staff to priority work to help with these exceptional circumstances, and I
am providing daily updates on our work to support the community and local infrastructure.
Your patience in dealing with service requests is greatly appreciated.

You can find out about real time travel information on edintravel twitter account and vital information on a wide range of Council services on the Council website's severe weather pages.
Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any concerns. Kind regards,

Natalie Hoy, West Neighbourhood Manager, 469 5198, .

West Team Severe Weather update - 17th December 2010

Severe Winter Weather Questions and Answers web pages have been developed for some of the more common queries. The Council is working hard to prepare for bad weather that has been forecast for this weekend. Snow showers are forecast from Saturday evening into Monday.

We are receiving many messages from customers. All information is reviewed and gives valuable intelligence for our programme of activities. We are not currently able to respond to individual enquiries as we are focussing resources on coordinating and delivering action on the ground.

Working conditions for snow and ice clearance remain difficult due to very low temperatures. Additional equipment has been used across the west and will be working over the weekend as we continue to prepare for the next snow fall.

Our strategic waste collection and grit dump sites continue to be well used. See the map of the waste collection points on the Council website.

Core Roads Services gritting and/ or clearance work
City wide all Category 1 and 2 roads have been gritted, and the following Category 3 routes: 23 - Broombank - Broomhall - Featherhall - Forrester Park - Ladywell - Manse St- South Gyle - Wester Broom and 20 - Gogarloch and remainder of South Gyle

Task Force Clearance work:

Attended to Priority locations for litter where high customer complaints
Gritted as necessary while carrying out these duties
Replenished grit bins as necessary
Replenished grit piles at Amenity sites
Replenished grit piles at strategic sites - hills
Durar Crescent full length gritted
Durar Drive pavements gritted
Drum Brae Community Centre Gritted
Rannoch Road pavements Gritted
Removed excess refuse from around Wheelie Bins where exceptional customer demand
Removed excess from Trade Waste Bins where exceptional customer demand

Squad 1 - Cramond Vale, Inveralmond Drive, Cammo Walk, Cammo Parkway, Cammo Place, Cammo Gardens, Walker Drive

Squad 2 - Silverknowes Terrace

Squad 3 - Drum Brae Park, Place, Avenue

Squad 4 - South Gyle Road, Wester Broom Ave, Started clearance on Broomhall Road + Heavy Grit, Clerwood Park, Carricknowe Parkway, Hill, Gardens, Grove and Terrace.

West Severe Weather updates 17:00 Wednesday 15 December

As publicised the forecast for the early hours of Thursday is for rain followed by snow. The rain should help reduce remaining ice levels on roads and footways. We are still receiving high volumes of requests to clear sections of footway and carriageways and we are aware of the issues right across the area.

Nearly 100 individuals have been working from the early hours of this morning clearing snow and ice, to an agreed programme designed to tackle all areas in an order designed to achieve full clearance across the west.

The Council website now contains an FAQ section on how we are responding to weather conditions and can be found here - http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/119/emergency_planning/1262/severe_winter_weather_q_and_as/1

Grit Dumps
In the event of some snowfall we will replenish grit bins and provide grit dumps for residents to use; this will be sped up by the use a "clamshell grab" vehicle.

Snow Ploughs/Gritters
Core Roads Services ploughs and gritters have been operating across West residential streets to grit our Category 3 routes. By the weekend we hope that all streets in each category will be on the Council website.

Work on ice clearance in our area is still particularly hard going for hand clearance teams, this was unexpected given the slightly higher temperatures. Despite this the teams worked hard to complete as much as they could using the support of heavy machinery where possible to break up the hard packed snow and ice. The conditions are particularly challenging for our staff who have been working tirelessly throughout, but also on equipment which continues to be monitored and repaired or replaced where necessary.

Contract squad 1

Completed Braehead area, started Cammo Estate (very difficult dig will continue on tomorrow and into Friday)
Wester Dalmeny Steadings complete
Morrison Gardens carriageway nearly complete, will return tomorrow
Forth Terrace (next to station at Station Road SQ) and William Black Place
Minor assistance St Margarets Park Corstorphine

Contract squad 2
Continued work in Ratho Station area, tomorrow and Friday for completion

Contractor squad 3
Drumbrae Park

Contractor squad 4
Morven Street

Contractor squad 5

Continued work on Lampacre Road, Tylers Acre Avenue, Gardens and Road
Kingburgh Road
Ormidale Terrace
Started in Clerwood area

Environmental Wardens
Corstorphine High Street (main shopping area) and work in St Margaret's Park

Task Force clearance work

Clermiston Access Path - gritted entire length
Clerwood footpaths to Alan Breck - part gritted will finish 16/12/10
Pathway through St Margaret's Park - gritted
Corstorphine Main street - gritted
Back Braes path (Queensferry) Station Rd to The Loan - gritted
McKievers Brae and Steps - gritted
Footpaths throughout the Boland Scheme Kirkliston - gritted
Whitehouse rd/ Cramond Rd North at Nursery - pavement gritted
Cramond Car Park and Entrance - gritted
Avenel (Avon place) - gritted
Saughton Crescent - pavement gritted
Glendevon Place, Grove, Gardens, Avenue and Terrace - gritted
Core Roads Services has a team patrolling the A90, A8 and slip road to the airport and Drumbrae & Clermiston areas to keep the traffic and buses moving. In addition to Cat 1,2 and 3 routes, Core Roads Services completed the following support functions:
Access to rear of Ladywell Medical Centre (Featherhall Ave) gritted as an extra to allow further gritting of a Cat 3 route.
Access to 188 Carrick Knowe Road for funeral (gritted), Contractor 1 performing any snow/ice clearance.
Gritting and scraping at Saughtonhall continuing - very slow progress due to depth of ice.
Access from A8 to Church on St Ninians Road for a funeral.
Footway routes from Wester Gardens to Roseburn.
Team dispatched to Corstorphine Road footpaths following numerous reports of pedestrian difficulties - salt applied to break down thick ice.

We are again experiencing exceptionally high volumes of customer enquiries and I would reiterate that it may not be possible to respond to all of these individually, however each and every piece of information is valuable in our assessment of our progress and programme of activity. I would therefore like to reiterate my thanks to you and your offices in ensuring information goes to and from my office on the current situation.

Severe weather response 17:00 Monday 13 December

With the thaw on Friday the priority in the West area was to ensure that the flooding at the airport roundabout was dealt with to avoid road closures; traffic management arrangements were in place on Friday rush hour and the flooding was relieved around 9.30 on Saturday morning.

In preparation for cold overnight temperatures on the weekend, Task Force and Core Roads Services worked to get as much grit onto roads and into grit bins as possible, aiming to replenish all grit before Thursday's forecast snow fall. We would be happy to hear from community groups that were keen to take responsibility for grit supplies, to enable further clearance work. City wide salt and grit levels remain satisfactory for the city's predicted needs. The remaining frozen ice is extremely difficult to remove by hand or mechanical means.

Updated information on the effect of the current weather conditions on services across the city can be found on the following websites:
City of Edinburgh Council website,
edintravel twitter account (Council's traffic information which gives real time travel news).
Lothian Buses
First Bus
Edinburgh Airport
First Scotrail
Traffic Scotland

Our strategic waste collection points are being well used across the area and the frequency of collection will be increased to minimise the impact on the surrounding communities.

Library and local offices services

All services delivered as normal throughout the weekend.

Snow and ice clearance activities over the weekend:

Task Force
Regritting of schools in South Queensferry
Sheltered Housing in South Queensferry and Clermiston
Shop Fronts at Clermsiton and South Queensferry
Emptying bins and refilling grit bins
Cramond:
Avon Rd - gritted pavements
Avon Grove - gritted pavements
Avon Place - gritted road as there are no pavements
Essex Rd - gritted pavements
Essex Brae - gritted pavements
Forthview Rd, Hope Street and Carmelite Rd pavements in South Queensferry.
Considerable time spent clearing recycling sites.
Squad 1
South Queensferry
Echline
Springfield Crescent and View
Dundas Avenue
Roseberry Avenue
Stuart Clark Avenue
3/4 Provost Milne Grove
Bo'ness Road (widening to full width)
Kirkliston
Gate Side Road
King Edwards Way
Maitland Hogg Lane
Squad 2 Work commenced/continued on Echlines, Viewforth Estate, Scotstoun South and Provost Milne Grove
All Almond Green Court
North Bughlinside & Bughtlinside Gardens
East Craigs
North Bughtlin
Core Roads
-Clearing snow/ice from Cramond, Barnton, Craigmount
-Clearing gully access to prevent flooding, Drumbrae, Barnton, Maybury
-Monday:
Essex Rd - pavements and road gritted
Essex Brae - pavements and road gritted
Incholm Terrace - pavements and road gritted
Priory Grove - pavements and road gritted
Viewforth Rd - pavements and road gritted
Plewlands Rd - pavements and road gritted
Loch Place - pavements and road gritted
Ratho Station Footbridge - gritted
Fox Covert Primary School access path from Clermiston rd - gritted
Footbridge from Carricknowe Ave to Saughton Mains - gritted
Essendean Terr and Place - pavements gritted
Rannoch Grove, Place and Road - pavements gritted
Ransome Gardens - pavements gritted
Hoseasons Gardens - pavements gritted
Alan Breck Gardens - pavements gritted
Dochart Drive (one side) will be finished 14/12/10
Contractor Squad 1
Provost Milne Grove expected finished this evening.
Atheling grove still some work required,
Scotstoun south completed,
WillIiam Black place completed
Stewart Clark Ave 50% completed.
Footways in Lawson Crescent completed, Viewforth Road completed, Loch Place completed, Bo'Ness Road completely finished.
Kirkliston - The Square, Almondhill Road, New Mains Road, Maitland Road, Humbie Road complete
Ratho Station - Hillwood Terrace/Hillwood Rise
Tuesday - Cramond/Barnton
Contractor Squad 2 North Gyle Terrace, Crescent, Loan
Tuesday - Craigmount Hill, Kingsburgh Road, Lampacre Road
Hotbox Patching Squad has been covering repairs on the two main West Routes.
Core Roads: 1 JCB and 4 men spent 4 hours on Baird Drive. Further work is required and it is expected that this will take place tomorrow.

We hope to progress gritting on Category 3 routes before the snow arrives and I will provide you with further information from our Core Roads team in my next update.

West Severe Weather Update - 10th December 2010 Keeping up the momentum

We will continue work right through the weekend to tackle as much as possible during the current thaw. With the forecast for very cold weather and snow showers towards the end of next week we are working hard to clear as much ice as possible.

As before if you or anyone in the area has specific concerns about friends, family or neighbours I would urge them to contact Social Care direct team at the Council on 0131 200 2324 and staff will arrange appropriate follow up. Email . In the evenings and weekends, contact can be made with the out of hours service at 0800 731 6969

Colleagues from Lothian and Borders Police have been hugely supportive in keeping our bus routes clear and most parked vehicles have now moved. The snow ploughs/gritters have accessed both Drum Brae and North Bughtlin yesterday afternoon. I am grateful for the co-operation from members of the public in moving the vehicles.

Libraries Services
standard weekend opening tomorrow, please consult the website for any updates.

West Roads and Snow Clearance update

We are dealing with some flooding around Edinburgh Airport caused by melting snow, West Team police, LRT, BAA and traffic management are working together and diversions are now in place. Further updates will be provided through Forth FM.

All category 1 routes have been scraped and gritted. Yesterday and today great progress has been made on our Category 2 routes and I hope residents will see a significant impact from the hand clearance work that can now take place as a result. Category 2 routes have been gritted twice and the majority scraped.

West Severe Weather Update - Thursday 9th December 2010

I have spent the day assessing the situation across each of the discrete communities in the area. The efforts of local residents and staff with spades, vehicles, heavy machinery to respond to this once in 50 years event are remarkable. I understand the frustrations of those who have yet to see the benefit of this labour but our efforts to support all our communities will continue and I hope people will feel the impact of our response. Soldiers from the army are a welcome addition to our list of partners responding to the situation today. An army liaison officer has joined the team in our gritting control centre to help with quicker co-ordination of resources and communication with all involved.

If you have specific concerns about friends, family or neighbours please contact Social Care Direct on 0131 200 2324 or [email protected] . The out of hours service can be contacted on 0800 731 6969.

We have activated our of Phase 1 communal refuse collection points in West. Please tell others of these locations; we will update you when Phase 2 locations are cleared and units in place.

I would encourage people to assess their properties for hazards such as blocked flues, dislocated guttering or icicles. It is a big help to the overall effort that, where safe and possible to do so, property owners tackle those issues.

We are supporting Lothian Buses to keep transport routes moving. This would be greatly assisted if car owners who parked up in the initial snow could return to their vehicles to make sure that they are not causing difficulties for bus or emergency service access.

Today teams have focussed on responding to requests to refill grit bins. Grit and salt supplies continue to be adequate for our needs.

Task Force clearance work (22 staff)

Lovers Lane gritted
Linn Mill Road gritted
Drumbrae Leisure Centre Path and access route gritted
Parkgrove Shops gritted
Clermiston Primary School fence line cleared
Gyle Bus Stops gritted (part done)
St Johns Road (from Manse Road to Meadow Place Road) pavement south side cleared and gritted
Saughton Road North shops gritted
Davidson's Mains and Barnton Bus Stops
Overspill From Tesco Recycling Point Meadow Place Road two loads completed
Tesco Davidson's Mains two loads completed
Queensferry Litter and grit bins and agreed priority locations such as sheltered housing, medical assistance and schools.

Core Roads Services clearance work

Category 1 Routes completed three times city wide throughout the day, handover to night shift to continue working routes.

Category 2 Routes

Route 1
Caroline Terrace, Corstorphine bank drive, St johns road, Kaimes road, Gordon road, Clermiston road, Hillview terrace, Corstorphine bank drive, Caroline terrace, Craigmount avenue north, Craigmount Brae,
Craigmount view, Stuart crescent, Craigmount grove, North Gyle road, A8, Craigs gardens, Craigs road, Templeand road. (END OF ROUTE)
Route 2
Hillpark drive, Hillpark avenue, Hillpark road, Craigcrook avenue, Carfrae road, Columba road, A90 (jcn Columba rd - jcn Craigcrook road), Ravelston dykes road (part to Craigleith crescent, Craigleith crescent (part to craigleith drive), Craigleith drive, Orchard drive, B900 part to Comely bank roundabout, Orchard road, Orchard rd south, Ravelston dykes road (to Queensferry road), Queensferry terrace, Belford gardens Blinkbonny Avenue, Craigleith drive , A90 (jcn Craigleith drive - including craigleith crescent), Craigleith crescent, Blinkbonny terrace, Ravelston house, Craigleith rise, Cumlodden avenue, Campbell avenue (part), Murrayfield road (Campbell ave to Murrayfield drive), Murrayfield drive, Murrayfield gardens, Murrayfield avenue, Succoth place, Succoth avenue, Ravelston dykes (jcn Succoth avenue to Garscube terrace), Garscube terrace, Coltbridge terrace, Roseburn terrace, Wester coates, Wester gardens, Wester coates avenue, Wester coates, Magdala crescent, Douglas crescent, Palmerston place (END OF ROUTE)
Route 3
Clermiston gardens, Clermiston crescent, Clermsiton drive, Parkgrove crescent, Parkgrove terrace, Clermiston drive, Parkgrove road, Parkgrove terrace, Parkgrove loan, Parkgrove drive, Drumbrae, Queensferry road, Barnton park drive, Barnton park view, Barnton park crescent, Barnton park avenue, Barnton park drive, Queensferry road to Quality street junction, Clermiston road north, Rannoch road to Fox Covert school and return, Clermiston road, Drum brae drive, Clermiston drive, Parkgrove road, Queensferry road, Parkgrove avenue, Parkgrove drive, Parkgrove road, Clermiston drive, Drum brae terrace, Drumbrae north, Drum brae avenue, Drum brae park, Drumbrae north, Duart crescent, Dochart drive, Hoseason gdns, Drumbrae drive, Rannoch road, Alan breck gardens, Durar drive (END OF ROUTE)

Gritted 2204, 2206 completed - detailed description of route not available at this time - confirmation in tomorrow's update

Gritted part route 2205, except much of Kirkliston - Manse Road, Liston
Rd etc inaccessible by gritter. Contractors working in area carrying out hand and heavy mechanical clearance to aid access.

JCBs have been Snow / Ice clearing on the following Cat 2 routes 1,2 and 3 plus dealing with emergencies

Maybury Drive has been heavy gritted, having major problems with parked cars so snow plough can't plough. Roads team to assess in the morning.

Emergency responses have included two funerals, ambulance access, emergency supplies to a disabled person and clearing a service road.

2 Mini-tractors doing footways in the city centre, Queensferry road
(both sides), Glasgow Road (both sides), Corstorphine Road (both sides)
3 hand crews.

Contractors clearance work (46 staff)
Contractors continued with hand and mechanical snow clearance work in Echline, South Queensferry and locations throughout Kirkliston, and access to shops for fresh provisions meant repeated clearing in Ratho Station. In response to public safety hazard, teams cleared an alternative route along footways in Kirkliston.

Environmental Wardens Service

Working with Task Force to grit and clear shops around St John Road and to the public toilets to maintain access.
Snow clearance activity for assessed, vulnerable residents.
Snow clearance at agreed locations for medical emergencies.

Libraries and Local Office Services
Standard opening hours for all 3 libraries of 10am to 5pm, normal working hours for both local offices.

West Severe Weather Update - 8th December 2010 PUSHING ON

In anticipation of a rise in temperatures towards the end of this week, our multi discipline West team continues to work steadily on priority snow and ice clearance. We are beginning to see the benefits of the big push yesterday however much remains to be done and we are working to engage the support of key partners and businesses in the area. As well as the work of numerous Council staff I would like to acknowledge the efforts of local residents, police, ambulance and fire services, and local businesses such as McTaggart Mickle, Scotmid and Edinburgh Leisure for clearance activity and icicle removal.

Edinburgh is the first authority in Scotland to seek help from the military to ensure the most vulnerable residents get the support they need to ensure access to hospital and other emergency services. Talks are still ongoing but under the plans, soldiers will help local residents from the hardest hit areas of the city including West, as well as those who need access to transport for medical or emergency reasons.

We continue to prioritise our snow clearance activities to the hardest hit areas and our priority locations of medical responses where ambulances or hospital attendance is required, school opening, old peoples home and sheltered housing, and we continue to ensure collection of refuse where possible from domestic bin chutes to prevent fire risk. Please continue to channel requests through my office although as I noted previously we may be unable to reply to every request. I can assure you the information you are providing is vital to helping us formulate our daily programmes and is much appreciated.

We are working with bus providers to respond to issues such as indiscriminate parking and we are requesting the assistance from all members of the public to ensure that they have parked sensibly in a location which would not impede emergency services or bus operators.

The transport networks in the West remained under considerable challenge today work has continued tirelessly through the day to ensure the network was managed as effectively as possible. Salt and grit supplies are adequate for these types of larger scale issues and for us to respond to local programmes of activity. We continue to work hard to replenish our grit bin locations throughout the West area and acknowledge the increasing demand from local communities for additional resources.

Co-ordination for our weekend activities has also begun in earnest to ensure the appropriate balance between staff welfare and continuation of our efforts to move into the remaining parts of our area. Also please be rest assured that senior management cover will continue to support on the ground operations.

Libraries
This week all three local libraries resumed opening hours of 10am to 5pm. Our two local offices were also open standard hours.

Environmental Wardens Service
Hand snow clearance efforts concentrated at the Tower and Kirkliston bus stops.

Core Roads and Road Clearance work
List of Category 1, 2 and 3 roads cleared / due for clearance

Task Force clearance work (19 staff)
Dalmeny Village (part), South Queensferry Provost Milne Grove, Dundas Avenue Part, Burgess Road (part) and path.
Roseburn Street. Gritted Clermiston Health Centre. Sheltered Housing Drumbrae North Bughtlin Sheltered Housing.
Bus Stops St Johns Road with assistance to the public digging out cars from Manse Road and Ladywell Road to keep the traffic moving.
Davidson Mains - Main Street gritted.
Bus Stops on Drumbrae Road North.
The Loan.
Binks Car Park Kirkliston Main Street .Kirkliston Health Centre.

Contractor clearance work (39 staff)

Echline Ave footway and carriageway complete
Kirkliston Road footway underway
Ashburnham Gardens underway
Dundas Avenue cleared to the Fire Station
Binks car park clear to aid management of locally parked cars to keep traffic flowing.

Refuse collection
We have now identified a number of locations for large residential refuse skips where normal collection service has not been possible, these have been assessed for vehicle access, snow clearance work has been carried out and are sites that the Council owns or where landowners agree to host the skips. Details of these sites will be published through our communications service and made available from tomorrow.

General
Sadly, the greenhouses in Kirkliston used by the local gardening club have collapsed under the weight of snow, this is in addition to a locally used garage which collapsed is a real blow to local residents.

West Severe Weather Update - 7th December 2010

As forecast we have not had further snowfall and the temperatures have remained very low South Queensferry and surrounding area received an additional 6" of snow and temperatures have not risen above -6C. We have planned our resources around the break in snowfall and additional staff are now working with the Task Force, as are additional contractors to support our local communities to get out and get moving.

Around 80 staff have been working in our area since early this morning focussing on priority locations - it is important that resources are used in this way to make the most impact locally. Where possible teams will respond to emergency or individual situations however we are receiving calls and requests through a number of channels and our city wide and local co-ordinating teams are managing these requests. I would urge continued patience at this time as I can assure you that staff are working round the clock to clear our communities and are themselves working in very difficult circumstances. Where possible grit bins are being replenished and litter bins being collected, salt and grit supplies remain at appropriate levels for the work required.

I would encourage local communities, if safe to do so, to clear pathways for themselves and neighbours - please refer to the Scottish Government advice on dealing with winter weather. I am heartened to hear of groups and communities who are clearing their local paths and I would like to acknowledge and commend these efforts.

For any specific concerns about friends, family or neighbours please contact Social Care direct team at the Council on 0131 200 2324 and staff will arrange appropriate follow up. In the evenings and weekends, contact can be made with the out of hours service at 0800 731 6969. More information, contact details and updates about these services are at Vulnerable People on the Council website

We have also been supported by Lothian and Borders Police colleagues who have been able to make informal contact with the drivers of some parked vehicles to allow freer bus movement.

We are continuing to work on arrangements for strategic collection points for refuse and are working with partners and local businesses to make sure routes and sites are cleared before any units can go into location, further information on site locations will be provided in the next few days.

Libraries
Our libraries service has been slightly impacted today, with both South Queensferry and Corstorphine fully open for customers from 10am to 5pm as agreed on a city wide basis. Restricted staff travel has meant that Kirkliston could only open for book returns/managed access for small groups of customers from 10am to 4pm.

Environmental Wardens
Performed hand snow clearance at Clermiston House in Western NP area.

Core Roads Services clearance work for West
City wide clearance of Category 1 roads carried out between 0730 to 1130 and embarking upon Category 2 routes.

Gritter - A90 slip roads to allow for icicle removal from overpass as health and safety risk identified, immediate action required.

Life and limb/ Medical Emergencies / School access areas cleared:

12/2 Clermiston Crescent
5 Clermiston Green
29 Dundas Place
Avon Grove
Clermiston House
Fox Covert School (oil delivery)

West severe weather response update - Monday 6th December 2010

Another day of challenging circumstances in the West, with significant snowfall from early lunchtime causing major travel and traffic impacts. We are experiencing a very high volume of customer contact and I have asked the West Team to prioritise action to these requests rather than the response back to the sender. I would ask for your patience at this time and would like to reassure you that actions are taken forward on the basis of the local intelligence we are receiving.

The south bound carriageway for the Forth Road Bridge has been closed for a large part of the day causing a significant impact on traffic flow. West and Core Roads teams have been, where possible, assisting with clearance activities to keep commuters safe and to encourage sensible diversions if possible.

We are prioritising our responses to this most recent snowfall around emergencies, schools, old peoples home and sheltered housing, medical responses where ambulances are required or hospital attendance is a priority. We are ensuring collection of refuse where possible from domestic bin chutes to prevent fire risk. We are working hard to ensure that we co-ordinate our teams and equipment and this is working well in many areas. In addition, you will be aware that we are working closely with emergency services across the city.

Salt and grit supplies across the city remain at adequate levels and we have used around 2,000 tonnes of salt city wide this weekend this compares to 10,000 tonnes being used the entire winter, this demonstrates that when we get a break in snow fall considerable efforts can be made to treat our network. Conditions today required that only Category 1 routes were treated and this was carried out on three occasions citywide through the course of the day. Current forecasts show that we will have another weather window to the end of the week, allowing Core Roads Teams to move back onto Category 2 routes, I understand it will take some time for road temperatures to rise and therefore hand clearance work for our Task Force and contractors will continue to be slow and hard going.

Shopping precincts:
16 Task Force and 40 contractor staff were working in the wider West and Queensferry areas concentrating on getting shop front pavements cleared in therefore allowing the public access to provisions, and where possible traffic moving in Queensferry. Areas attended to included:

St Johns Road,
Western Corner,
Clermiston Grove,
Saughton Road North,
Duart Crescent,
Drum brae Avenue,
Rannoch Terrace,

Task Force/ Core Roads Services/ Contractor work carried out on Monday:
Task Force completed gritting at the following locations:

Hopetoun Road
The Loan
Burgess Road
Ferrymuir Gait

Premier One (contractors) completed significant snow clearing in and around South Queensferry

Core Roads completed clearing and treatment of the following carriageways:

11+31 Bramble Drive (emergency),
Gateside (emergency)
Ladywell Court (emergency)
72 Craigmount Brae (emergency)

Task Force/ Core Roads Services/ Contractor work carried out on Monday:

Premier One (contractors) completed clearing on the following routes

Cramond Crescent (footway + carriageway),
Cramond Bank (footway + carriageway),
Cramond Loan (footway + carriageway),
Cramond Glebe to medical centre (carriageway),
Cramond Glebe to Kirk (footway),

Task force completed cearing and gritting work at the following locations:

Craigmount Brae - access to East Craigs Primary (footway + carriageway),
Queensferry Main Street (gritted),
steps leading to Rosebery Hall, Mid/East+West Terrace (cleared + gritted),
Stoneycroft Road - top to bottom (cleared + gritted),
Hopetoun Road (footway) (gritted),
Kirkliston Primary School (footways),
paths from sheltered housing at Kirklands Park to Stirling Road (gritted),
Lovers Lane (part) (gritted),
Ferrymuir Gait lane to cemetry (gritted),
The Loan (east footway) to Back Braes (gritted),

Core Roads completed clearance and treatment of the following locations:

Schools,
medical centres,
Barony Terrace,
Dalmeny School

Queensferry - Carmel Road, Echline Grove, Echline Avenue.

Operational update from local team

1. The Loan, Joint response from Task Force and Premier 1 to assist clearing the Loan after a double decker bus was stick across the street. Hand gritted top to bottom.

2. Queensferry Primary School - after request from Head Teacher to help janitors clear main doors, fire exits and road leading into school.

3. Ferrymuir Gait - assisting Lothian and Borders police grit road to help HGV Lorries exit to A90.

4. Kirkliston Rd junction with Ferrymuir Gait gritted and cleared of snow to help ease gridlock into Queensferry.

5. Walker Drive from Number 30 to Boness Road. Heavily gritted and excess snow cleared for Ambulance access.

6. Paths in Clermiston area gritted by gardening squad.

Grit bin replenishment and litter bin collection where accessible.

Libraries/ Local Offices

Despite best efforts to co-ordinate resources, all three libraries in the West area were closed. Information was posted on the Council website to inform customers, however over the next couple of days I would advise customers to check with their local library team or the website before travelling. It is our intention to open all 3 libraries from 10am to 4pm tomorrow (Tuesday 7 December). Kirkliston Local Office was closed early at around 3pm today to allow safe staff travel, however South Queesferry Local Office was able to remain open until 5pm.

Refuse Collection Update

As you will be aware it has not been possible to collect refuse in many areas of the city, particularly where there is an individual wheeled bin collection. We are preparing to set up strategic collection points across the area, allowing customers where is possible to deposit refuse from their homes. A list of possible locations has been collated by each Neighbourhood Manager and we are currently putting in place arrangements which will allow the co-ordination of snow clearance activities and the placement of around 60 -70 receptacles (skips etc) city wide. It is intended that this programme will commence across areas in the next few days and information on West sites will follow in further updates.

Weather Response Update from West Neighbourhood - 1700hrs Sunday 5 Dec

There has been a considerable amount of work carried out in the West area, although due to the significant drop in temperatures progress to physically clear the snow and compacted ice has been slow and hard going. General hand clearance has involved the use of pick axes to clear up to 8 inches of snow in places. We have continued to be supported by colleagues from refuse collection and Premier 1, with around 70 additional 'man days' having been worked over the course of the weekend. As lead officer for the co-ordination centre on Saturday, I am pleased to note that the co-ordination of Core Roads/refuse and neighbourhood teams has allowed for the most effective deployment of resources and communications.

Gritting and mechanical snow clearance has moved on to Category 2 routes throughout the course of the weekend, allowing more residential locations to be freed up onto our main arterial routes. This has started to get traffic moving in our area helping the salt/grit which has been laid to be worked into the snow and ice therefore making it much more effective. 35 Premier 1 staff spent almost a full day in the South Gyle area yesterday clearing a strategic route across roads and footways freeing up routes to the school, work in the afternoon was carried out in Davidson Mains. Ladywell House, Cramond Medical centre and the area around Cramond Kirk were also cleared. Our Task Force staff spent time ensuring that schools across the area are cleared for access on Monday morning, collecting litter bins and replenishing grit in grit bins mainly in the Almond ward area.

Refuse collection staff have today been deployed to the Roseburn area to clear a route from the school, old peoples home/sheltered housing linked to the shops.

In addition, our Task Force staff have carried out snow clearance in the following locations;

Queensferry Main street gritted
Steps leading to Roseberry Hall, Mid Terrace, East and West Terrace cleared and gritted
McKievers Brae paths and Steps gritted
Stoneycroft Road gritted from top of hill to bottom gritted
Steps leading from Back Braes to Stoneycroft Road cleared and gritted
Hopetoun Road pavement gritted
Kilrkliston Primary School pavements gritted
Paths from sheltered housing at Kirklands park to Stirling Road gritted
Path from Allan Park to Kirkliston main street gritted
Lovers Lane (part of) gritted
Ferrymuir Gait lane to cemetery gritted
The Loan (east side pavement) to Back Braes gritted

Also as an emergency request clear path and drive out into main road at Echline Grove as a health priority to allow egress for medical treatment.

We have our Taskforce team, concierge team, some staff volunteers and our contractor Premier One working in the neighbourhood over the weekend.

West Neighbourhood severe weather actions 17:00 Thursday 2 December

As you will be aware the snow has continued to fall throughout the day and our Roads Services colleagues are focussing on our Category 1 routes in the West area.

Additional staff are working from the 'Nerve Centre' gritting control at Bankhead depot co-ordinating Task Force and Refuse Collection staff both city wide and for the West area.

We have put in place additional programmes of activity for our refuse colleagues for tomorrow for hardest hit areas, working with Task Force staff.

We have agreed resource allocation for across all neighbourhoods for private contractors (Premier 1) for today and tomorrow to target snow clearance in priority locations, co-ordinating with local neighbourhood teams.

Environmental Wardens are carrying out snow clearing duties in priority areas.

Ongoing monitoring from 7am by the West Roads Team of the road network with continuous feedback to gritting control and West Local Office.

Local Offices and Libraries have been opened and are maintaining services for customers.

West Office staff have been asked to volunteer for snow cleaning duties and lists have been collated. Staff will be deployed from tomorrow to carry out snow clearance. Plans are developing for fuller snow clearance activities when snow showers eventually do stop. Our current clearing activities are taking account of medical practices and emergency or care related premises.

Salt and grit supplies remain at a satisfactory level.

Local police teams are providing local intelligence regarding food supplies and road conditions. Early discussions have taken place around Partner's support for the work being carried out.

Limited work began on Category 2 roads, however this ceased when further snow meant teams had to return to clearing Category 1 roads.

Team and Building Standards have assisted in Kirkliston where the local Scotmid experienced roof failure.

Street Cleaning have ensured no overflowing bins at shops and bus stops.

South Queensferry

Pavements in the Loan have been cleared on both sides.
Frontage at Police Station has been cleared
Rosebery Court cleared - in spite of access difficulties using the Kubota 4x4
Station Road
Brewery Close

Ratho Station

Sheltered housing
Pedestrian access to Ratho Station
Footbridge over A8 at Ratho Station

Kirkliston

Sheltered housing
Steps to Glebe from Chemists
High Street
Lane to Wimpy Scheme
Liston Place to Main Street
Lights at crossroad Main Street
Crews are digging out cars to keep traffic flowing

Corstporphine area

Refuse staff have been working from Roseburn west along St John's Road, Corstorphine to Glasgow Road

Accesses cleared to:

Craigmount High School
St Augustines High School
Forrester High School
Queensferry High & Primary School
Royal High School
Kirkliston Primary School
South Gyle Station
Manse Road near sheltered housing
Sheltered Housing - Dunsmuir court

Penniel Road - Roads Inspector assisted 80 year old resident who had run out of food.

Helping remove stuck vehicles where this keeps routes moving.

West Neighbourhood severe weather response update 17.00 Wednesday 1 December

As you are aware we are facing exceptional challenges in maintaining services and keeping the west moving. It is acknowledged that this neighbourhood is one of the areas most severely affected in the city due to the geography and topography.

Since the onset of the snow at the weekend West management team have been co-ordinating our overall response. The councils' Corporate Severe Winter Weather Contingency Plan is now in effect.

We have maintained the full range of neighbourhood services throughout the period including libraries and local offices opening for business, this has only been achieved through staff working hard despite travel difficulties they face to get to work. One member of staff has collected office staff early every morning and taken them home in the evening to make sure our offices remain open for our customers.

A decision has been taken to restrict libraries and local office closing times to allow staff to safely travel home - this will now be between 4.00 - 4.30pm dependent on snow showers and customer bookings.

Task Force staff have continued to carry out hand/mechanical snow clearance work in priority locations where possible (shopping areas, schools, care homes, dialysis travel etc) however this has been particularly challenging due to the extent of snowfall in South Queensferry.

Refuse staff unable to carry out collection duties due to snow have been redeployed onto snow clearance work. We have also co-ordinated clearance work being undertaken by our Environmental Wardens teams. We are currently exploring additional support arrangements.

Our centralised Roads colleagues are working hard to ensure that Category 1 routes (main arterial routes, ambulance routes etc) are treated and ploughed, understandably this task is exceptionally difficult due to the repeated snow events and drop in overnight temperatures. Grit and salt supplies are sufficient for local and city wide needs.

Our Task Force and Roads Teams worked hard this morning to support colleagues to ensure all traffic attempting to cross the FRB were safely directed in the first instance and thereafter safely able to cross.

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