‘COMPLETELY unacceptable’ plans to take two busy roads off Middlewich’s gritting route are being challenged by town councillors.

A proposal to remove 247 roads from Cheshire East Council’s gritting map as part of wider changes to the borough’s highways network caused uproar earlier this year.

It led to cabinet members agreeing to a further round of consultation, and at Monday night’s Middlewich Town Council meeting, the proposals were roundly slammed by members.

As it stands in Middlewich, five roads would be removed from the gritting map, including St Anns Road and Warmingham Lane south of Cross Lane.

Cllr Graham Orme studied the plans for a report ahead of Monday’s meeting – and he insisted it ‘beggars belief’ CEC would take such busy roads off the gritting map.

He said: “If they are not gritting St Anns Road, you have got emergency ambulances that may want to come in and out of Willowmere [nursing home], you have got potentially school crossings that will not be gritted.

“I believe the work that was carried out is fundamentally flawed.”

Cllr Mike Hunter, chairman of Middlewich Town Council, pointed out that lorries – including Ansa’s bin wagons – use Warmingham Lane to avoid the Nantwich Road aqueduct, while St Anns Road is a school bus route.

“It’s impossible that [St Anns Road] cannot be iced,” added Cllr David Latham.

“It’s a safe route to school, it feeds the main supermarkets, it feeds the main route for elderly people down Southway.

“You are asking elderly people to navigate an uniced road to get onto the car park. It’s just unbelievable with that road – never mind Warmingham Lane.”

Cllr Gareth Williams added that the proposals were ‘completely unacceptable’ and called on Middlewich Town Council to oppose them in the strongest terms.

He said: “I’m speechless on this – it is absolutely ridiculous. There is absolutely no logic to their reasoning on this.

“Money should not come into this all the time. It’s not all about saving money – it is about protecting people.”

The proposals are part of CEC’s new ‘Well Managed Highway Infrastructure’ – which was adopted by cabinet in February and challenged by Conservative councillors in a ‘call-in’ the following month, leading to the decision to run further consultation.

To produce the policy, CEC officers used a formula outlined in a 2018 consultation to decide which roads would be axed, kept or added to the gritting route.

At a meeting in March where it was debated, deputy leader Cllr Craig Browne said: “This is the first time that Cheshire East will have had an evidence-based policy on gritting routes.

“Previously routes were either included or excluded without rationale.”

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Cllr Browne explained that once the plans come into effect – which is expected to take place in 2021-22 following the latest consultation – gritting routes will be reviewed every year.

Other roads currently earmarked to be axed from the gritting route include Hayhurst Avenue, Newton Heath and Sutton Lane.