Roads & Highways:
During Severe Weather we will..
Keep you up to date with our actions by giving updates
on the road conditions and gritting/ploughing status. You can find
them on our alerts page at www.northumberland.gov.uk/alerts
Snow Clearance - Roads
Where forecasts indicate that adverse winter weather conditions
are likely to result in snow clearance, appropriate resources are
placed on standby to be mobilised.
Where necessary we move resources to areas of greatest need.
Nevertheless it is not practical to clear all roads in the first
instance and CLEARANCE PRIORITIES WILL BE:
- Principal Roads
- Roads into towns and villages- At least one road into
each settlement to allow access to the cleared road
network
- Major town centres
- EmergencyService establishments
- Approaches to schools
- Other roads
Clearance on the lower priority roads will only take place when
the higher priority roads remain open.
How to request a gritter or snow plough
Both the A1 and A19 are the responsibility of the Highways
Agency. We do not plough or grit these roads. You can
contact the highways agency as follows:
...for
all other roads in Northumberland, please click
here.
Snow Clearance - Footpath and Cycleways
In continuing and prolonged ice/snow conditions, as resources
become available, treatment will be progressively extended to main
footways in town centres, outside schools, hospitals, health
clinics, where there are heavy concentration of pedestrians
Self help
How to report potholes and road defects
Both the A1 and A19 are the responsibility of the Highways
Agency. We do not repair these roads. You can contact the
highways agency as follows:
...all other roads in Northumberland can be reported online
using the link below
If you need to contact us:
please ring 0845 6006400 or
Email ask@northumberland.gov.uk.
Where you can find the latest
information:
Latest Weather forecast:
Where you can find the latest
information:
View 5 day forecast form the Met Office
Schools
During Severe Weather we will..
play a co-ordinating role between schools and
County Hall ensuring key updates are brought to the attention of
the wider public principally via the front page of the
official Northumberland County Council website.
The School Admissions Team
will provide advice to schools on a range of issues to do with
school closures.
Schools- it is the
responsibility of the school to:
- To make the decision whether to close or
not.
- Disseminate information as widely as possible
although it may not be possible to contact all individual parents
of all pupils affected directly.
If you need to contact us:
Ring the County Council Schools helpline –
0845 6006400.
Email ask@northumberland.gov.uk.
Where you can find the latest
information:
All school closures will be listed in the link below
Listen to the Local Radio Stations -
- Radio Newcastle 95.4fm,
- Real 100-102fm,
- Radio Borders 102.3fm
Or Log on to the following Radio
Stations Websites
School Transport
During Severe Weather we will..
play a co-ordinating role between schools and
transport providers, ensuring key updates are brought to the
attention of the wider public principally via the front page
of the official Northumberland County Council website.
Transport Providers - They
make decisions whether or not to run in severe weather
conditions.
More specifically, it is the responsibility of
the operator to:
- contact the relevant schools
immediately if it is felt that the weather is deteriorating and the
transport must operate earlier or is unable to operate.
- Liaise with other feeder transport
providers to ensure that connections are made and children get home
safely.
- Allow students time to contact their
parents/guardians if they are alighting the bus at a different stop
due to adverse weather conditions
Schools- it is the
responsibility of the school to:
- Contact the transport provider if it is
felt that the weather is deteriorating and the transport must
operate earlier.
- Liaise with other Head Teachers in the
pyramid where transport is shared (ideally all schools in pyramid
will close at the same time) to ensure safe operation of transport
for all schools in the area.
- Contact individual parents of all
pupils affected.
If you need to contact
us:
Ring the County Council Schools helpline –
0845 6006400.
Email ask@northumberland.gov.uk.
Where you can find the latest
information:
Listen to the Local Radio Stations -
- Radio Newcastle 95.4fm,
- Real 100-102fm,
- Radio Borders 102.3fm
Or Log on to the following Radio Stations Websites
Sure Start Childrens Centres
General
Our policy will be to maintain the maximum
service delivery for as long as possible whilst balancing this
against the need to ensure the safety of children, families and
staff.
Decisions to remain open, to close or deliver
services for over a shorter day will need to be made on an
individual centre and daily basis, based upon conditions in the
vicinity of the centre. Conditions may improve or deteriorate
locally and this may mean for example that a centre opens but then
has to close earlier than it would normally do so.
The ability of Centres to remain open is
likely to vary across Northumberland, with rural Centres in the
North and the West more vulnerable to closure.
A decision to close is most likely due
to:
- insufficient staff being able to travel to
the Centre;
- breakdown of essential services eg heating
system;
- conditions are so hazardous that the risk to
children, families and staff outweighs the perceived benefits to
opening.
During severe weather we
will….
Make every effort to open Centres and to
maintain delivery of services that parents rely upon such as child
care.
Ensure staff make all reasonable efforts to
get into work so appropriate staffing levels can be maintained.
Where service delivery is affected - for
example where the number of services being delivered and the length
of sessions is reduced we will notify you at the earliest
opportunity of such changes as circumstances may change over the
course of a day;
If you need to contact us
Please do
contact your local Children’s Centre to obtain up to date
information or to pass on any messages to us.
Where you can find the latest
information
County Council
website: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nccalerts
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/northumberlands
Household and Commercial Bin Collections
During Severe Weather we will..
continue to undertake the regular scheduled
collection of household and commercial waste wherever it is deemed
safe to do so. The decision on whether it is safe for a
refuse collection vehicle to access a specific
location/street has to be determined locally by the driver of
that vehicle, taking into account the prevailing driving and
weather conditions at that time and the physical nature of the area
that has to be negotiated.
If the driver decides that it is not safe to
access an area, then they will report this to their manager and the
Council’s customer service staff to enable them to field any
subsequent enquiries. If significant numbers of
residents/business are affected then an alert will also be posted
onto the Council’s web page to provide information to the affected
people.
We will try to return and collect missed bins
within 24 hours of the scheduled collection date where
possible. If this is not possible due to continuing bad
weather conditions, then we will aim to return later during that
same week to collect missed bins and if necessary this may include
working weekends. Details of arrangements to catch up with
collections will be posted on the Council’s web page and
communicated to the public through the local media. You may
be asked to leave your bins out for collection for the remainder of
the week.
Exceptional Adverse
Weather
In exceptional adverse weather conditions it
may prove necessary to temporarily suspend all refuse collection
arrangements in a particular area. As soon as conditions
improve the service will resume.
If extreme weather conditions continue for a
prolonged period and it proves impossible to catch-up on missed
bins during the same week, then residents are advised to put both
bins out for collection the following week – as the Council will
endeavor to undertake the collection of both bins within the
resources available.
If extreme weather continues for a prolonged
period of more than one week and this results in major disruption
to refuse services to a large number of households, then in these
extreme circumstances the Council may consider suspending recycling
bin collections and prioritise the collection of general household
waste instead.
Household Waste recovery Centres:
If, due to severe weather, the sites have to close down for
health and safety reasons, then details of the closures will be
posted on the Council’s web page as an alert and communicated to
contact centre staff. Notices will also be displayed at the
sites detailing the closure. Every attempt will be made to
ensure that sites re-open as quickly as possible following such a
closure.
Self Help
It should be noted that the majority of HWRCs
remained open throughout the whole period of extreme bad winter
weather last year – residents that have not received their normal
refuse collection service as a result of snow/ice creating access
problems for refuse vehicles can therefore help themselves, if they
wish to do so, by taking their own waste to the nearest HWRC.
If you need to contact
us:
please ring 0845 6006400 or
Email ask@northumberland.gov.uk.
Where you can find the latest
information:
Details of any special arrangements will
be issued through the media where possible
The
Alerts page on the Internet
Library Service:
During Severe Weather we will..
endeavour to ensure all libraries and the Mobile Library Service
will operate as normal for as long as weather conditions allow.
Customers can renew their books online at www.northumberland.gov.uk/243
or telephone 01670 505016 (24 hour renewals). If the library has to
close or the Mobile Library cannot visit any overdue charges will
be waived for the period of closure.
If you need to contact us:
please ring 0845 6006400 or
Email ask@northumberland.gov.uk.
Where you can find the latest
information:
The latest information will be displayed on our home page
under alerts
see the
Alerts page on the Internet
Adult Care:
During Severe Weather we will ……..
Work closely with our partners in
Northumberland County Council and the NHS to do all we can to
provide the care that people need to keep them safe and
well.
If we have difficulties providing the normal
level of care to an individual, we will remain in contact with them
and look to put in place other types of support.
If you Need to contact us
….
Please telephone your care manager or health
professional, or alternatively you can call our single point of
access for social care on 01670 536400.
Where you can find the latest
information
see the
Alerts page on the Internet
Staying
warm in winter
Cold
Weather Payments
