A disabled man fears he will be left a prisoner in his home in wintry weather after a nearby grit bin was removed in Fife Council’s controversial purge.
Brian Leighton, 70, struggles to walk due to a bad hip and is worried he will be unable to go outdoors if roads and pavements in his steep Newport street are unsalted.
He has also warned an ambulance might struggle to get up Tayview Terrace in icy conditions if there is no salt for local residents to use.
The local authority removed many bins across Fife, saying it wanted to to cut back the provision to a “more sustainable level” given its limited resources.
It has already bowed to pressure and replaced some after communities argued their cases but it turned down a request for Tayview Terrace.
Mr Leighton has appealed the decision to council chief executive Steve Grimmond.
He said: “I always fear that if I fall and need an ambulance in winter there’s going to be no salt to put on the road.”
BLACK FRIDAY OFFER: Two years of unlimited access to The Courier Digital — at better than half price!
His concerns have been backed by Tay Bridgehead Liberal Democrat councillors Tim Brett and Jonny Tepp.
Mr Brett said: “Mr Leighton is disabled and has great difficulty walking.
“Some years ago I was able to get an extra grit bin for him that was located at the top of Tayview Terrace in Newport.
“Unfortunately, this has been withdrawn as part of the council’s savings programme.”
Mr Tepp said: “The withdrawal of this bin means that Mr Leighton is concerned that he will not be able to get out of his house in bad weather as the road and pavement at the top of Tayview Terrace, which is on a hill, will not be gritted.
“We have asked the council if this bin could be reinstated but they have said no.”
The council said the two remaining grit bins in Tayview Terrace were sufficient for the area.
Derek Crowe, roads and transportation senior manager, said: “We have removed grit bins from both our primary and secondary gritting network as we already provide a level of cover on these parts of our network. There is therefore not the same need for grit bins at these locations.
“We have also removed bins from places where there are a lot of bins serving a small area and also locations where we’ve seen low demand.
“We’ve consulted with local councillors about particular issues or hot spots in their area and taken their feedback into account. Where residents think there is a particular case for keeping a bin in a specific location, we have been happy to review the case and discuss concerns.”
