Rhondda Cynon Taf snow clearance operation – a great team effort
Over the last few days, the Council has undertaken the biggest snow clearance operation in decades.
Council staff worked around the clock in shifts, 24/7, clearing the main network as a priority, followed by footpaths, town centres, the three mountain routes Bwlch, Maerdy and Rhigos
Staff from other Council departments were drafted in to assist the Highways team with the clearance work, along with a number of contractors who were brought in to help with snow clearance as part of the Council’s contingency planning. A number of local farmers also offered their assistance to the Council.
The following contractors were used:
- Peter Simmons Construction
- Ryan Jones Plant Hire
- Pengam Plant
- Barratt JCB
- Dee Plant
- Lewis Lewis
- Tom Prichard Contracting
- Macron
- Trembath plant
- Gareth Davies JCB
- Clive Johnson
Following weather forecasts from the Met Office, the Council initiated emergency planning meetings last week and implemented its Winter Service Provision Plan.
Nigel Wheeler, the Council’s Director of Highways and Streetcare, said: “This has been the largest snow clearance operation ever carried out by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and everyone responded to the call in a dedicated and professional manner.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who assisted with this clearance; staff, contractors, local farmers and the countless volunteers who gave up their Sunday to help us clear school grounds ensuring the vast majority were able to open as normal on Monday morning.
“We have had over 80 vehicles out clearing and treating our County Borough, including ploughs and gritters as well as staff on foot manually clearing snow with shovels.
“Thanks to the dedication of our staff, and with the support of local contractors and farmers, we were able to clear main routes, mountain roads and the majority of side streets over the weekend. We were also able to respond to a number of requests made by residents for support.
“Inevitably, due to the scale of the snow clearing operation we faced, there was some disruption to services and there were some areas of the county which it took us longer to get to. However, contingency plans put in place meant disruption to services was minimised with the majority back to normal from today.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank residents for their patience and understanding during this period.”
Home to School Transport resumed on Monday morning (March 5) but some schools remain closed following the decision of respective Headteachers and Chairs of schools’ governing bodies.
Refuse and recycling collections also resumed as normal on Monday (March 5).
Arrangements for missed collections from Thursday (1) and Friday (2) March have been reviewed and additional crews have been put on to allow us to go back to collect from these areas today. If your collection was missed, please put your refuse and recycling out and we will come back to collect this week. We will aim to collect before your next collection day.
All of the Council’s Community Recycling Centres are open as normal.
The Council’s Meals on Wheels service is also operating as normal, as are Council Day Centres and Adult Provision, leisure centres, libraries and theatres.
