A COUNCIL chief today admitted he ‘misjudged’ the amount of snow that fell last night.Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s chief executive Mark Rogers, right, spoke after some schools were today caught off guard.
In a statement on the council’s website he said: “At the risk of stating the obvious, the weather is continuing to cause concern and disruption both locally and nationally, and it remains less than clear when these protracted cold conditions will ease significantly.
“I must admit that I misjudged the volume of snow that would fall overnight - and continues to fall as I write.”
Yet services and schools should be taken as open, he said.
Mr Rogers said: “I would be uncomfortable condoning serial closures of schools, for example, when we have just had a two week holiday, exams beckon for some of our older pupils and the travel conditions, whilst less than helpful, are not insurmountable with a little planning.”
Bin crews were doing their ‘level best’ to tackle the backlog. “However, this is not an easy time and I can foresee that there will be further alterations and interruptions prompted by the conditions on many side roads,” he said.
After yesterday announcing that gritting would be slashed by 25 per cent amid a national shortage, Mr Rogers said there is ‘increasing likelihood’ that further cuts will start from Saturday.
This could see grit rounds cut by up to 60 per cent, he warned yesterday.
Mr Rogers said: “It is important for me to say that this is not because of under-stocking locally; the problem is that most of the country, along with large parts of Europe, is needing to grit extensively and to unexpected levels - and the grit/salt suppliers cannot meet demand.”
He added: “I would like to thank you all for your continuing understanding and patience.”
But he said: “Predicting the precise conditions for Solihull and then deciding how to respond to them sometimes requires the judgement of Solomon: and he is not presently available to advise.”
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