Ben Wallace MP

BEN WALLACE MP

With Christmas closing in fast, winter is well and truly with us. I know some have suffered flooding recently with the road at St Michaels being impassable and some properties being cut off by flood water. I can assure you I am looking into all cases reported to me and highlighting them with the appropriate agencies. Highway flooding has been quite widespread although in some cases leaves on the road have been the culprit. With that in mind, could I please remind all constituents that there is a very easy way to report blocked highway gullies to Lancashire County Council. Just go to www.lancashire.gov.uk/roadsparking-and-travel/report-it and then follow the steps set out. I did highlight this in the last article but I do think it is important and it is a straight forward way to report blocked gullies as well as many other highway faults. I recently received Lancashire County Council’s latest winter newsletter and wanted to highlight some points: The county council is responsible for over 4,300 miles of roads of which approximately 1,800 miles are part of Lancashire’s ‘priority road network’ for salting and snow clearing. It can take gritters up to four hours to grit one route and even longer in severe weather conditions. When low temperatures are forecast they grit the roads as a precaution before the frost forms, usually during the evening or early hours of the morning. Remember weather forecasts are only a guide and local knowledge and expertise is vital in deciding what to do. Despite their best efforts, winter weather can still make roads treacherous and there is no guarantee that roads will always be completely free of ice and snow. Please take extra care. If you would like to find out more about driving in winter conditions please go to: www.

lancashire.gov.uk/winter

As well as our road network, there is no doubt that winter will bring many challenges for the NHS and that is on top of the pressures of Covid. I would continue to ask constituents to be vigilant in relation to the virus and to apply common sense to try to keep the spread to a minimum. As always to keep up to date with the latest advice please go to the Government’s website: www.

gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirusrestrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

Electricity North West has been in touch with me, letting me know that, as the region’s electricity network operator, they are continuing to work hard to support constituents and keep power flowing to homes, businesses, schools and hospitals across the region. They are conducting a #BeWinterReady campaign, with a focus on