Council has the vehicles on hand for severe weather

November 27, 2013 9:51 am

COUNCIL SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH 4×4 CHARITY FOR SEVERE WEATHER RESPONSE

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the City of Edinburgh Council and Lothian 4×4 Response, agreeing that the charity will endeavour to provide transport and logistical support to the Council in times of need, for instance during a severe winter weather emergency.

Under the terms of the MoU, Lothian 4×4 Response’s functions will be:

The transportation of a member, or members, of the public on behalf of the Council in order to mitigate a potential emergency;
The transportation of essential staff to their place of work during severe weather or during exceptional circumstances when the Council’s support function could be compromised;
The collection or delivery of equipment or supplies to locations where there is an urgent need;
The surveying and reporting of road and environmental conditions;
Simple vehicle recovery where appropriate to a suitable, safe location at the direction of the Council to aid traffic flow and minimise danger to road users, or to allow full recovery of the vehicle by a commercial recovery service.

Councillor Jim Orr, Vice Convener of Transport and Environment, met Malcolm Gibson from Lothian 4×4 Response at Waverley Court to mark the signing of the MoU between the charity and the Council.

Cllr Orr said:- “As the nights draw in and temperatures plummet, our focus is on making sure we keep the city moving, whatever the weather has in store for Edinburgh this winter. This MoU marks an important addition to our resilience plans and we are delighted that Lothian 4×4 Response will be on hand to help us to continue to deliver life and limb services across the City if the weather becomes especially severe.

“Residents can get ready for winter weather and keep up to date with service information by checking out our Winter Weather pages online. We’ve got more than enough salt and grit stocked up and our fleet of specialist snow clearing vehicles is ready for action.”

Malcolm Gibson, Treasurer of Lothian 4×4 Response, said “We are a group of volunteers committed to using our 4×4 vehicles, and the varied skills we have developed, to support communities by providing specialist transport and logistical support in times of need. As such we are delighted to become formally part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s planning response.”