Snow banked up on country roads last winter.[/caption]
Councillor Paul Gribben (Sinn Féin) has said that time still exists for farmers to register for snow clearing duties over the winter period by contacting their local DARD office.
He added:xa0“Recently we have seen the first flurries of snow across the North and the Road Service were out keeping roads open.xa0 However no matter how hard they try it is impossible for them to service every road especially in rural areas as there is over 7000km of main roads alone.
“Last year we seen a heavy snow fall that close entire rural communities for days so it is therefore important that we maximise the amount of people and equipment available to clear snow in times of adverse weather. In recent years farmers have proved invaluable in keeping rural roads opens as DRD can only maintain main roads.
“The Department of Regional Development is now compiling a register of farmers who have the proper equipment and are willing to participate in the snow clearing scheme.
“At present there is over 100 farmers registered but in order to cover the maximum number of roads we need more farmers and rural dwellers to sign up.
“I would urge farmers who have relevant equipment to get registered which will help the Department preplan for adverse weather in the coming winter as they can coordinate a response through the register.”
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