Gritting and snow clearance

We have a legal responsibility to maintain clear and safe passage along the highway, including clearing snow and ice during adverse weather conditions. Snow clearance involves implementing extensive emergency plans. During these times, we will use all of our resources available to clear roads affected in the shortest time possible.

We have 4 gritting vehicles with ploughs and our own salt barn. On a typical frosty evening, gritting operations will begin at 7.30pm and will cover an average of 100 miles of major roads in the borough. The average length of a snow plough route is 26 miles.

In certain extreme conditions, it may be necessary to spread a mixture of salt and grit to achieve road traction, particularly in the case of compacted snow.

Our winter maintenance policy

Winter maintenance policy (PDF, 162KB)

What we do

To deal with winter weather, we do the following:

• spread rock salt to prevent ice from forming during frosty conditions (pre-salting)
• spread rock salt to melt ice and snow that has already formed (post-salting)
• clear snow and ice from pavements and public spaces
• start snow ploughing when 50mm of snow has fallen and continues to fall

Our aim is to clear all priority roads of snow as soon as conditions permit and clearance work will continue as necessary

We give the highest priority to main roads, public transport access routes, access to hospitals and hills with high volumes of traffic.

We try to hand grit areas such as shopping parades, stations, school roads and medical centres if the weather is prolonged or severe.

What you can do

Follow these tips when it snows to help yourself and your neighbours stay safe:

• shovel snow when it is fresh, as it is much easier to remove at this stage rather than after it has been compacted into ice by people walking on it
• do not use hot water to melt snow as this could create black ice
• help clear snow from your neighbour’s path or doorway if they aren’t able to do this themselves
• if you’re shovelling snow, consider where you are going to put it so that it does not block people’s paths or block drainage channels, as this could cause a problem elsewhere
• once you’ve cleared an area of snow, spread salt to help prevent ice forming; table salt or dishwasher salt will work fine, use a tablespoon for each square metre you clear.
• if you don’t have any salt, a little sand or ash is a reasonable substitute; it will not have the same de-icing properties as salt but should offer grip underfoot
• use the sun to your advantage: removing the top layer of snow will allow the sun to melt any ice beneath; you will need to cover any ice with salt to stop it refreezing overnight
• pay particular care and attention to steps and steep gradients to ensure snow and ice is removed. You might need to apply additional salt to these areas

Residents cannot visit the depot to ask for salt and grit in any situation. We use a product that is salt and grit mixed with molasses. This helps us work more effectively so the treatment sticks to the carriageway. It is only for council use.

More information on preparing for emergencies.