Brighton and Hove City Council says it will be holding an independent review into how it handled December’s snowfall.

It also said it would be making improvements to the way it tackles winter weather in future.

But it has stopped short of apologising for what many people in the city regard as a failure to clear the streets and pavements, most of which became dangerously icy after Friday’s snowfall.

Council leader Mary Mears visited the Hollingdean depot today and heard suggestions from gritting crews, binmen and women and gardeners involved in the clear-up operation.

She said: "I was impressed by the helpful suggestions that came forward from the staff on the ground who are closest to the residents.

“As a result I will be announcing several key improvements before the New Year.

"As well as making changes in the way we grit the roads and pavements, I believe we must work even better with our partners to make sure that the city keeps moving when temperatures fall.”

But while conceding residents felt the way the council dealt with the situation was not adequate, she defended its actions.

She said: "We must remember that this was a particularly severe and prolonged cold snap of the type that comes along only once every few years.

“From the day before the snow we had our gritting and street clearing teams, gardeners, arborists, drivers, bin men and women and managers out and about in the city implementing our severe weather plan.

She added: “However, it is clear to me that many concerns have been raised by residents and they think that we could have done things differently. I want us to address those concerns."

The council’s environment and community safety overview and scrutiny committee will be told to carry out the review early next year.

It will be instructed to investigate the planning and processes, and establishing whether any improvements can be made.

Its chairman Warren Morgan said: “Residents will want answers to many questions including how staff were deployed, why residential areas were not cleared or gritted and whether there have been any cut backs in our preparedness for this kind of weather.

“They will want those questions answered in an open and transparent way which I hope we can deliver.”

In the meantime the city is working to get back to normal.

Accident and emergency departments at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Health dealt with 445 patients throughout Monday.

About 60 patients are still waiting to have surgery to repair broken hips, wrists, arms and legs.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is still classing the weather as a major incident as it grapples with the backlog.

Dozens of people were turned away after arriving for the annual Burning the Clocks ceremony in Brighton on Monday night.

Organisers of the event cancelled it for the first time in its history for safety reasons.

Trains across the county are expected to operate to a full timetable tomorrow with some minor revisions. It will be the first time in days that the transport network has not been paralysed by ice and snow.

Meanwhile, a Facebook group called Brighton and Hove Lazy Christmas gritters which now has more than 250 members - scores more than have become fans of the council's official Facebook page.

And yesterday, the council released details of where its 350 salt bins are kept, which you can find here.

What do you think the council's review should look into? Let us know in the comments section below.