councils getting out of paying farmers for snow clearance

[startinghandle]

i have just been talking with someone who told me that councils are getting out of paying farmers for snow clearance and the excuse is that tractors and telehandlers were using red diesel

 

[Still Farming]

Farmers not happy around here as when the Council did eventually turn up week later and farmers had cleared most areas a bowser turns up to fuel council digger and was asked for a drop to keep going and the reply was NO .The reply stuff you then ?
Look what it saved the Council by farmers helping out !!!
Why do we pay pay rates ???
No gritting or top up salt bins NOTHING.
The Council had tractors and new loaders but men could'nt get into use,and when they did they had grass or recrenational tyres on so useless ???
Farmers pe'ed off.

 

[paul&mandy]

i have just been talking with someone who told me that councils are getting out of paying farmers for snow clearance and the excuse is that tractors and telehandlers were using red diesel

You can use red to clear roads no problem.Also check your insurance. if your being paid you have to get extrea cover. if your doing it for free ie clearing access to your farm then its fine as usually covered. with the nfu thats the case anyway.

 

[Hilly]

More fool them that work for the council, i would not lower myself to work for scum like that these days.

 

[bez]

i have just been talking with someone who told me that councils are getting out of paying farmers for snow clearance and the excuse is that tractors and telehandlers were using red diesel

Name and shame? Am sure there are a few "no win no fee" lawyers out there ready to get stuck in to the councils.

 

[renewablejohn]

I offered our council the use of my plough and gritter but they could not be bothered doing a contract so I could not be bothered turning out. As it was we had very little snow but still enough for the village to be cut off. Really annoys me that there prepared to pay a lengthsman 15k a year to collect litter but not prepared to pay farmers for snow clearance, verge cutting, hedge trimming.

 

[warksfarmer]

We had a call from our local borough council to help but said no. I’m not interested in going out when there’s snow around!

 

[michael N123]

Our roads would never of been cleared if it wasn’t for a waiting’s loading shovel

 

[Sid]

Skanski had 3 tractors ready to go and plow snow. But no one with a ticket to drive them so they sat there tooled up doing nothing!

 

[nick...]

Cleared several roads round here out of the goodness of my heart for the local community.probably spent 6/8 hours doing it and never contacted council as i know they won't pay.cost me a bit but the locals appreciate it.
Nick...

 

[wasted years]

I spoke to farmer off the fell edge last night and he said that Cumbria CC said they would bring him some salt/grit to replenish stocks but they didn't know when.
Snow is supposed to be back at the weekend.

 

[Happy]

Cleared several riads round here out of the goodness of my heart for the local community.probably spent 6/8 hours doing it and never contacted council as i know they won't pay.cost me a bit but the locals appreciate it.
Nick...

Yes, are the people that are unhappy about not getting paid by the council retained by the council to carry out such a service?

Bit off if not but now expecting the council to pay you for taking it upon yourself to do your bit for the local community.

A lot of the public did what they could. Just most are not so visible as a hulking big tractor & snowplough.

My grain merchant took his neighbour into work at health centre in his Hilux on the Thursay morning. Got there to be told practice nurse couldn't get in so went and picked her up.
By this time it was 11am so with no haulage to organise and nothing much else doing he ended up spending the afternoon driving the GP's about doing home visits.
Countless others across the country did similar. Doubt many will be putting a bill in for it though.

 

[Dolomite]

Cleared several riads round here out of the goodness of my heart for the local community.probably spent 6/8 hours doing it and never contacted council as i know they won't pay.cost me a bit but the locals appreciate it.
Nick...

But do they appreciate it? Did the same here as did a few others. Guarantee we will be back in front of their pointing fingrs when something happens or upsets them. I can't wait for the parish council to cheep up. I'm gunning for them fraudsters.

 

[Flasheart]

As Happy says, if you were contracted you should get paid otherwise it's just a bit of good community relations.

We had a snow clearing contract for many years but it was very clear we would only get paid for doing work as authorised. We had to have a phone call telling when we could start and what kit to use. I let the contract lapse when we bent our snowplough in a pothole and it wasn't worth getting a new one.

We cleared a few roads round here, as much for our own benefit as anybody else's and don't expect any thanks or payment

 

[upnortheast]

Used to be a simple system round here, Council provided a plough on the understanding if you got a call at 4am you would go out. A modest hourly rate was paid
Then the deskbound clowns got involved. Driver had to go on a course, Service records for the tractor had to be sent to the council. An "adequate " workshop had to be on site.

Most farmers said "not worth the hassle"

 

[Grain Buyer]

Ahhhh, thought you were all doing it out of good will! Or at least that’s the impression I got at the time.

Now I know the council we’re paying it might explain why there were literally packs of loadalls driving around on perfectly cleared roads looking for something to do.

 

[7610 super q]

Very short sighted, if that's the case.
Interesting to see what happens next time we have snow....

 

[7610 super q]

Skanski had 3 tractors ready to go and plow snow. But no one with a ticket to drive them so they sat there tooled up doing nothing!

You need a ticket now to shovel snow ?
Would you adam and eve it....

 

[deere66]

excuse is that tractors and telehandlers were using red diesel

Don't council gritters run on red?

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Ahhhh, thought you were all doing it out of good will! Or at least that’s the impression I got at the time.

Now I know the council we’re paying it might explain why there were literally packs of loadalls driving around on perfectly cleared roads looking for something to do.

I presume that's said tongue in cheek cos I don't know anyone round here who's expecting or asking to get paid apart from 1 contractor who works on contract with snow blowers. I presume most on here who've posted about clearing aren't expecting payment either.

As an aside there's roads round here still been blocked at least up until yesterday and our postie asked the council about clearing them and they said it would be done by the 23rd!! I presume they meant it'll be melted by then!