Have the people of Brighton and Hove become whingers and wimps – or is it the media giving that impression?

The line seems to be to blame the council for not clearing every side road and alley during the snow.

What goes unrecognised is that civil society involves both “the state” and the people.

Of course the council must put every effort into clearing the roads. But there are thousands of small side roads and streets and I see no recognition of the fact that most major roads were cleared, no recognition of the effort of the dozens of council workers who worked to clear them.

I saw no thanks to the bus company and the bus drivers for providing at least a minimal service in extremely difficult conditions but thanks to them I was able to visit my friend in hospital most days.

But what did we all do to help in the crisis ? Many roads in Brighton in particular are, like the one I live in, narrow and hilly and therefore extremely dangerous when icy.

And yet less than a third of the households cleared a walking space in front of their house. Had every able-bodied person done so, and perhaps also done their elderly neighbour’s, in all such streets there would have been a safe walking space and fewer broken limbs.

There was even a full grit box at the bottom of the road, with which a large enough group of strong people could have gritted the worst spots. This was the situation in many other steep roads such as Springfield Road which took me an hour to navigate.

Similarly, I am amazed at the traders complaining that the pavement in front of their premises was not gritted. Surely it is to their benefit to clear the pavement so that their customers have access without breaking their necks. In France, where I once lived, shopkeepers have to clear in front of their shops.

I hope I am wrong in my impression that this seems to denote an attitude of helplessness unless the council does it, because if we can’t get some civic action in a situation like this, what hope is there of collective action in the face of the much greater threat of climate change?

Joyce Edmond-Smith
Bentham Road, Brighton