Cardiff council has used between 600-700 tons of grit to make Cardiff's icy roads safe during the big freeze this week, Guardian Cardiff has learned.
Waste collection services were also severely disrupted after vehicles were unable to collect rubbish in Rhiwbina, Cyncoed, Llanishen, Heath and Pentwyn this week.
Assessing the damage caused by the snow and freezing weather this week, Cardiff council said:
"Due to snow and icy conditions, as temperatures plummeted, a few collection services were temporarily suspended.
"The waste collection teams also experienced difficulty accessing some streets in Cardiff on Monday and Tuesday this week.
"Whilst most roads were accessible, some side streets and pavements were too icy and assessed to be unsafe for collections.
"Every effort was made to minimise any disruption whilst ensuring the safety of the council's waste teams and members of the public."
Outstanding collection services from last Friday in the Ely Caerau and Canton areas were completed by Monday, with bulky waste collections due on Friday collected over the weekend.
The affected areas on Monday were Rhiwbina, Cyncoed, Llanishen, Heath and Pentwyn and the council said smaller pockets of disruption have also occurred since then. Extra teams were sent out on Wednesday to collect rubbish and the council said any rubbish left uncollected will be attempted to be caught up this weekend, pending improved conditions.
The council used between 600-700 tons of the salt stock out of an average total of 3,000 tons – with 350 containers across the city. Read our report on the council's plan for adverse weather conditions and gritting the priority network here and see the council's winter arrangements here.
Facility closures
The Star Library in Splott was closed for one day on Tuesday due to problems with the heating not working. This was resolved and the library opened as usual on Wednesday. The Star Leisure Centre was not affected and to date no leisure centres have been closed this week due to adverse weather conditions.
Roath Park was the only park in the city closed for two days, on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Cardiff council said as Roath Park is such a large park it was closed for safety reasons.
Herbert Thompson Primary School closure
For this week Herbert Thompson primary school in Ely has been closed after a frozen water pipe burst – flooding the school.
Rhodri Morgan and Kevin Brennan, AM and MP for Cardiff West today visited Herbert Thompson Primary to see the extent of flood damage to the school and to offer their support.
Rhodri Morgan said:
"I was so sorry to see how badly affected the school building has been. But its not only damage to the building - teaching resources and materials as well as IT equipment have been destroyed.
"On top of this, what made me most sad was to see how much of the work that the pupils had produced had been totally ruined.
"Herbert Thompson is a lovely school and a very special place, which makes an enormous difference to the lives of the local children who are lucky enough to be taught there. There is talk of temporary classrooms to help get the children back to class while the school is dried out and then the renovation of the main building is carried out. The council needs to make this happen as a matter of urgency as there are currently 215 pupils who cannot be taught until the classrooms arrive."
Kevin Brennan said:
"I only visited Herbert Thompson last week to see the innovative work which was being done in the school to improve the well being of pupils.
"It is vital the school is up and running as soon as possible and the staff and pupils have the necessary equipment and resources to carry on with minimum disruption."
Were your council services affected by Cardiff's big freeze? Leave your comments below.
