by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporting Service.
This article has been updated – see additional paragraphs towards the end.
As the county freezes it appear Dorset Council has no proactive policy for making icy and slippery pavements safe – despite the risk of falls which can lead to hospital treatment.
The authority has been asked what its policy is for making pavements safe – its response confirming it prioritises roads, only reacting to local concerns on pavement on an ad hoc basis.
Yet Dorset Council does have a clear policy relating to roads – when and where it grits and which routes get priority.
Residents say in some cases the situation over pavements is asking for problems – with incidents reported on social media of council worker blowing fallen leaves from roads, onto pavements, making pavements more dangerous.
In Dorchester a key pavement to and from the town centre, alongside the skate park in Weymouth Avenue, has remained covered in wet and slippery leaves for weeks, with its uneven surface adding to difficulties for walkers using the route from housing estates to the south. The path is also used by hundreds of school pupils.
It seems that there is no policy for gritting pavements, unless grit spreads from road gritters.
A Dorset Council report, from several years ago, found that many people were driving less than a mile into the town centre from their homes because they felt unsafe when walking or cycling.
My own experience highlights the problems. Now in my late sixties I generally prefer to walk, but the state of the pavements heading into Dorchester, and a recent near fall on the slippery and uneven surface means that I too am now among the ranks of those driving into the town centre, although only a relatively short distance away.
As with others my age I am well aware that a fall could result in broken bones, hospital treatment and, potentially, a lengthy recovery period – not to mention the cost to the NHS and a likely loss of independence, income and ability to socialise.
Local NHS figures show that falls, particularly for the elderly, are a frequent reason for hospital treatment.
The latest figures, for October 2024 to September 2025, show the total of hospital admission due to street falls amounts to 147 – representing 8.2% of all 1,796 falls admissions.
More than half of these are for residents aged 75-plus, with 77 per cent of falls on the street attributed to “slipping, tripping or stumbling” on the same level, ie not going up or down steps of slopes.
Said a Dorset Council spokesperson on Monday: “This time of year is particularly challenging period for the Waste Service, there is a lot of demand for mechanical sweeping due to leaf fall. During the leaf fall period, we suspend our sweeping schedules and focus resources on the areas/roads worst affected by leaves. However, in heavy areas we can sweep a road and a couple of hours later it doesn’t look like we’ve touched it. The warm weather we’ve experience has prolonged leaf fall season this year, fortunately the majority of the leaves are down now.
“Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester is one of the areas we prioritise during leaf fall. I will ask the local depot Supervisors to ensure this is swept again at the earliest opportunity. If members of the public are concerned about a specific street they can report this online to request resources attend using the link: Street cleaning – Dorset Council.”
Update from Dorset Council:
“We don’t routinely pre‑salt footways. The council’s policy is not to treat the footway network except in extreme conditions and then only when resources are available. In severe weather, post‑salting of footways is carried out on a priority basis, and some treatment may occur from salt overspill when adjacent roads are gritted. Snow clearance on footways is undertaken only if resources are available, and some towns and parishes also clear priority footways when they can.
“Each winter, we focus our precautionary salting on the road network to keep Dorset safe and passable – covering A, B and well‑used C roads, links to hospitals, routes to larger schools, primary bus routes, and main routes through towns and villages.
“To help communities with local footway treatment, we fill salt bins before winter and deliver bulk salt (dumpy bags) to town and parish councils. During longer cold spells, our Duty Engineers may also invoke arrangements with town and parish councils to take action on persistent ice on minor routes.”
