Does anyone else care? I'm sure that the damage done by the salt, if any, is negligable against the amount of pollution from China and America, the devastation of the rainforests in the Amazon and the constant increase in the use of combustion engines across all walks of life. I am slightly curious as to how mother nature deals with it though.

If you stop to consider al the cr*p that is put onto our roads (salt, rubber, spilt fuel, oil, etc.) is it not a triumph for Mother Nature that grass (and weeds) can grow so profusely on verges and central reservations?

Aha, kind of like evolution?

On a global scale, the salt spread with gay abandon (and at enormous public insistence) along the length of the A4 is negligible.

But on a local level?

Despite common perception, a few thousands of tonnes of rock salt have been spread about in the past weeks and this will make it's way into river courses and areas where it just isn't meant to be. An overload of salt can put such a strain on native species that hardier invasive plants and animals take over. Research indicates that excess salt changes stream chemistry, causing certain minerals to leach out of soils. At high enough concentrations, salt can increase the acidity of water, causing some of the same negative effects as acid rain.

Road salt also attracts deer and other large animals to roadsides, (te lick road clean wi' tongue) which could increase chances of collisions with vehicles..... and let's not forget the aversion that snails (and slugs) have to salt....
We could be causing the demise of the Desmoulin's whorl snail Vertigo moulinsiana which so greatly impacted on the route for the Newbury bypass all those years ago........

I am not a thief, the Council are for taking my money and not providing services.
As for 106 money, which to a layman seems to be bribe money (the more you pay the more you are guaranteed to get your own way). Why cant it be used to employ Temporary workers to clear the paths? There are many unemployed who would be glad of a weeks work, why cant the Council help them out?

I'm not sure that argument would work out so well. If you want to dispute the service you have recieved then you can do so in a civil court, just as if this was a private company being discussed. You don't just take something.

Furthermore if you feel they are negleting your road / route then why don't you send them a proposal of the road / route you want included in the clearing and gritting procedure in future. You should also make sure to include why this will benefit the larger population (who also pay their taxes), because obviously they can't justify it if the route is only used by the people who live down it.

So would you take a dinner out of the meals on wheels van? Same principal. Your arguement was you needed to get out of your drive and road which is why you took it. As I pointed out in an earlier post you must be able to get out to visit the town centre and pilfer the salt bin. BTW did you do your elderly neighbours drive, or were you me me me?

Unemployed get benefits of one level or another. It should be a requirement that they do it to keep receiving benefits.

Well done Rupert, you can't win on here can you? Firstly people are saying we should grit the roads and pavements outside our houses, now you're getting slated for it!

I would believe that - they also ticket people parked in an allegedly "free" car park.

Link

I understand that 106 money is agreed between the council and developer to mitigate the impact of a development, by help paying for infrastructure improvements. If the council go on to use this money elsewhere, it could be argued by the developer that he had paid more than he needed to. There have been cases of where developers have taken councils to court and won a rebate. 106 money isn't money available to the council to do with it as it pleases. Although, some section 106 money can be used on other projects by agreement.

Not quite. A layman (i.e. most people) would not have a clue what "106 money" meant. (Yes, I did look it up.)

As you suggest it's stealing. I'd like to see him try and justify his point with meals on wheels,

"The Council are for taking my money and not providing services like free meals for me like they do to others. That's why I stole some elderly lady's dinner".

Free for three hours if you display a ticket properly, from reading that article. What's to stop people parking there all day otherwise?

If this happened to me I wouldn't be complaining, I'd be so embarrassed I couldn't read simple instructions that I wouldn't mention it to anyone.

So what are you hiding lately then?

If I was starving and so skint that I couldn't get my own food, I'd steal off the council if they weren't willing to provide it.

A standard way (one used by quite literally thousands of car parks), is for the warden who is there anyway, (must be to be doling out tickets; to note the reg numbers of the cars as he is going round checking on a hand held computer and it alerts him or her of when their 3 hours is up. I have been to car parks where the ticket system is operated though and not had a problem, when I was a rep though I went to a lot so was used to checking, if I just went shopping twice a week I probably wouldn't be so vigilant.

Fair enough, if you were starving I would support you on that. He took the salt to get out of his drive/road. He obviously could get out as he took the salt from the Council offices (unless he lives there). To use your analogy this is like feeling a bit peckish and taking the dinner. Notice he did not post reply to my query about helping others in his road.

No I would not take meals out of vans, have you tried them? My Mother said they tasted like cardboard. Yes I have cleared my neighbours path with the small amount of salt I was able to carry.

A slightly more contrite post than your original Rupert?

And you expect his reply to be as measured? Let's all go down the pub, get jarred and fight it out eh?