A COMMUNITY is still being urged to come forward and help clear snow from its streets.

Buckley councillor Richard Jones has this week begun his pilot project on the streets of his town, taking salt and shovels out to help clear paths and increase safety levels for residents.

Covering areas not likely to be cleared by Flintshire Council but anticipated to be heavily used, Cllr Jones was joined by volunteers including Scout members and
fellow councillors for the first day of the new scheme.

He is now calling for other members of the Buckley community to join him in the operation when bad weather strikes.

Cllr Jones, who swiftly put his scheme into operation after receiving a positive response at last week’s Buckley Town Council meeting, said: “There are plenty of benefits for getting involved in this. There is the opportunity to help out your own community, to meet other people, add something positive to your CV and to do something very constructive with your day.

“We need a long list of people who I can call upon, as obviously there will be days when some people are unable to help.”

Known as Identifying Community Engagement (ICE), the project is aided by Cllr Jones obtaining items such as shovels and bagged salt on a loan agreement from Flintshire Council.

Cllr Jones’ initiative has generated plenty of discussion on this website, since it was unveiled last week.

“mr katt” was a critic of the system, writing: “Great stuff you pay council tax and now they want you to sweep snow.”

A more favourable response came from “a cahill”, who praised Cllr Jones: “[There is] nothing like getting the community involved in sorting out their problems and looking after their own. By all means get the kids involved, from experience they just love to feel important by doing things such as litter picks.”

Cllr Jones, who is a member of both Buckley Town Council and Flintshire Council, added: “We are covering areas where Flintshire [Council] don’t get to.

“We hope as many people as possible will play their part. If it snows on Christmas Day I will be ready to go out there.”

Cllr Jones wishes to thank the Potters Wheel and other businesses for providing refreshments and support during the clean-up operations.

Anyone willing to register as a volunteer should call Cllr Jones on 01244 546982 or 07762820350.