As the Met Office issues a severe weather warning, Torbay Council is doing all it can to ensure that staff and residents remain safe. Plans have been activated to ensure that the council can deal will issues caused by the adverse conditions.

Torbay Council would like to remind people that the advice is not to travel unless absolutely necessary. With this in mind, the difficult decision has been made to close all Torbay Council buildings at 2pm today to enable staff to safely return home. They are expected to reopen at 10am tomorrow. The situation will be carefully monitored and if a decision is made to extend the closure a message will be posted on Torbay Council’s website.

In the interim, arrangements are in place to deal with any emergencies. Anybody who is concerned about the safety of a vulnerable child or adult is being encouraged to contact the multi agency safeguarding team (MASH) in the usual way. 4 x 4s will be available to transport staff on emergencies when needed. To report an emergency please call 01803 208100.

The emergency control room will also be on standby. This can be accessed by calling 01803 701318, but residents are being asked not to call unless it is necessary.

Torbay’s Elected Mayor, Gordon Oliver, said: “Keeping the residents of Torbay safe and well during this period of adverse weather is of paramount importance. Torbay Council’s staff and partner agencies have been working extremely hard to put plans in place to deal with problems caused by the difficult weather conditions we are experiencing.

“Our Highways, Public Health, Adult Social Care and Housing Options Teams have activated these plans over the last few days and will continue to do so over the coming days. This includes looking after the needs of our most vulnerable residents such as the elderly and homeless. I would like to say a big thank you to all workers who are providing care in people’s homes and care homes. There are stories coming through to us of terrific commitment and effort.’”

The council has taken the following steps to deal with the adverse weather conditions:

The Highways team is operating their Winter Maintenance Plan which involves monitoring forecasts and calling appropriate action based on the predicted weather. Roads on the network of treated areas are being routinely treated with salt and street scene inspectors will continue to check the roads with further gritting planned. In the worst case scenario, gritters can be mounted with ploughs, however please ensure that you always check weather forecasts as not all roads can be treated.

Tor2’s waste and recycling services will not be operating on Thursday 1 March 2018. This is for the health and safety of both residents and waste and recycling operatives.

Torbay Council’s Public Health team is reminding people to stay warm during this period of cold weather to prevent colds, flu and more serious health issues. It is recommended that you heat your home to at least 18C and look out for those around you, especially vulnerable people who are more at risk during cold weather. More advice can be found here https://www.nhs.uk/staywell

The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been activated by the Housing Options Team and extra provision is being made help rough sleepers. When the temperature drops to zero degrees or below, the council provides additional accommodation to rough sleepers to protect against such severe conditions. We are now working with partners to provide this service. If you are homeless and have an emergency please call 01803 201800.

Schools will maintain communication with parents and staff to let them know when they are closed.

Torre Abbey will close until Saturday 2 March. The PRIVATE VIEW event planned for tomorrow evening is cancelled and will be rescheduled shortly. Also cancelled is the Young Art Devon Exhibition, Choral Engineers workshop, Meet the Curator sessions, and the John Ridson Lecture due to take place this weekend.

For further information and help visit our website.