TAUNTON Deane has hit back at claims that their response to Storm Emma was 'woeful'.

The leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council has hailed their response as an 'incredible team effort', following last week's criticism.

Cllr Ian Morrell, an independent member of TDBC, made the comment when flood fears were raised during the recent debate on the Firepool planning application.

He said: “We all saw how woeful Taunton Deane and Somerset County Council were in relation to the recent snow.

“When it comes to it, I do not think that we will have the whereabouts to put these temporary defences in place before serious damage is done.”

SCC responded last week, inviting Cllr Morrell to spend time with the teams who kept the county moving when 20cm of snow struck.

Now, Cllr John Williams, Leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council, has also replied to Cllr Morrell's claims.

He said: “Many of staff were mobilised to deal with preparation for, reaction to and recovery efforts related to the snow brought by Storm Emma.

"It was an incredible team effort across a number of authorities and agencies. 

“Staff at Deane Helpline worked 24/7 manning the phones fielding enquiries and responding to requests for help from our residents and still maintained an exceptional standard of service to the thousands of vulnerable people who rely on their lifelines.

“Our on-call plumbers, carpenters and other tradesmen were on duty responding in four wheel drive vehicles to emergency calls due to frozen pipes, loss of heating and other critical incidents.”

The Open Spaces team along with redeployed staff from the council’s cleansing contractor, Idverde, were busy from early on Thursday morning gritting sheltered housing sites to ensure tenants could get to communal halls.

They also worked throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday clearing high risk areas such as Musgrove Park Hospital, access roads to the A38 for ambulances, crossing points in the town centres and making sure that bridges were safe to cross.

“We are extremely proud of our team for the wholehearted commitment they showed to looking after the interests of our Taunton Deane residents,” said Cllr Williams.

“I would also like to thank our partners, especially Somerset County Council, Avon and Somerset Police who kept main routes open, the ambulance and fire service who were on duty throughout  all helping stranded motorists and others in need.

"It is a shame Cllr Morrell sees fit to claim the response was woeful without first checking what was achieved in the face of such extremely difficult conditions.”