councils getting out of paying farmers for snow clearance

[Hampton]

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'm actually quite amazed by this thread. We have always cleared our lane (1.5 miles) if it snows up to the main road (about 80 houses down by the river 1 mile on from us).
We expect the local farmers with council snow ploughs and the councils own snow ploughs to do the main roads and because they have council ploughs they get paid. We would never expect money for moving the snow with our telehandler

 

[Hampton]

Now if the council are not paying the farmers who have council snow plough contracts then that is a different story...

 

[Happy hillbily]

Council arn't to bad here usually, every contractor on the books has their patch, they have a blade, v plough and a gritter, and in normal times it works ok.
This last snow they were inundated, the drifting snow closing the roads as soon as they were opening them, the guy who does out patch got stuck with his tractor and plough somewhere, eventually he abandoned his tractor and started clearing with his digger, didn't see him on our road after the Thursday. Luckily we have our own V plough. My Dad bought it 25 years ago for £400. As he said it was less work clearing the road, than messing about with an emergency milk tank and carting the milk to the tanker in the village. If I can get the road cleared before anyone travels on it, getting the milk tanker here is easy, but once you get people traveling on the snow, it's much more difficult to get a clean road, which makes it difficult for the tanker to get up here. I don't get paid for clearing the mile of road to the village, but for me it's less hassle doing it.
It did pee me off a bit when the local council were patting themselves on their backs, saying how their staff and contractors did such a wonderfull job in such tough conditions. Maybe I should send them a bill for the 15-20 hrs I put in clearing the road !

 

[kfpben]

Hampshire seems pretty simple; one inch of snow and out you go. Everyone has a written route to follow keep going until stood down.

Rang to ask for permission to use jcb to clear blocked lanes- ‘yes fine just add it to the invoice’ they said. Further permission granted for the contractor we were working with to use the snow blowers.

I think it’s worked this way for years. The council leader went public thanking the farmers for keeping the roads clear.

I don’t think I’d have been clearing miles of blocked lanes FOC without some payment. Kit doesn’t run off thin air.

 

[Still Farming]

The public have short memories about helping them ! - wait until they are stuck behind a tractor on the road.

 

[kiwi pom]

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

Sounds like sour grapes from someone who didn't have a contract but cleared some snow then put a bill in and got told to do one.

 

[robo]

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

do you have to have a ticket to shovel sh..t if so wont bother turning in tomorrow. looks like early pint then.........yea right

 

[Sheeponfire]

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...

+1

To be fair only 1 road in and out here...

"her indoors" needed out and I also needed the vet in!!

72 hrs before we saw a council plough

In my view the materials handling equipment us farmers have these days knocks spots off the councils gear...

ye can no half shift the stuff with 200hp behind you!!

plenty of " brownie points" with the locals!!

I do hope they remember the next time some livestock appear in their gardens!!!

 

[Hobbit]

We have a blade and a blower on a council contact. Got the call, went out got stood down at midnight back out at 7am till 6.30pm working on pre detrimind routes then was given permission to clear side roads of the routes aswell. It's was quite smooth with the council just had to phone in every hour. They sent us a form stating the hours they think we did which matched my hours but didn't allow for me staying out till 1am not 12 so not sure if I will get payed for that not that I'm worried it needed doing before every tom dick and harry tried to drive over it.

 

[michael N123]

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.

My girlfriends a care worker and her company had people from a 4x4 clubs offering to drive the workers round there calls

 

[Henarar]

when council ploughs were first issued back in the 70s it was down to the farmer to go out when it was bad enough to do some good but this got abused and some put in for hours they hadn't done or driving about when there was nothing to clear so they changed it so you had to wait till you got a phone call

 

[michael N123]

What use would the councils equipment of been against the 10ft+ drifts filling the roads in we had ?

And there was a very smart self propelled snow blower that’s proberly older than me go past my house a few times does anyone no if that is council owned

 

[Exfarmer]

When we were milking , we had to ensurethe tanker could get through, so we were ploughing the local roads at all hours.
Meanwhile our neighbour had the council snow plough but never came out, not sure if he was paid anything , I hope not

 

[Guy]

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.

Arnt farms excluded from business rates ?

 

[Guy]

As my old man Ranted last week-
Farmers pay no business rates
No road tax
No inheritance tax
No capital gains tax
No fuel duty
Get grants for a new shed
And get a area payment cheque every year ..
Least they can do is clear the bloody road every 3 years when it snows for 24 hours

Made me chuckle abit ...

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

My girlfriends a care worker and her company had people from a 4x4 clubs offering to drive the workers round there calls

Was similar being done here, til some office hero had a meltdown about the 4x4 drivers not being CRB checked.

 

[Still Farming]

Arnt farms excluded from business rates ?

Council tax house then.

 

[Kevtherev]

You have to be authorised to go out.
We did some roads before being authorised to help the community.
Some were very grateful others didn’t even acknowledge it.

 

[Yale]

Was similar being done here, til some office hero had a meltdown about the 4x4 drivers not being CRB checked.

Yes,if you drive one of these you are either a farmer or not quite right in the head or both.

 

[Still Farming]

Will all the Committees ,emergency planning -community councils,Councils etc.etc.,where were they?
At the end of the day it was back to FARMERS to get the place going again.
They all "know the answers" in charge this that and the other , but when it comes down to it, their knackered and "back to stone age" for moving about and food .