Almost a fifth of councils are raising gritting salt stockpiles this winter, with 49% of town halls preparing to share supplies – a poll reveals.
With temperatures set to plummet this week, local authorities across England have already stockpiled around 1.3m tonnes of salt to deal with frozen pathways and roads.
Despite councils using less grit than usual during last year’s mild winter, research by the Local Government Association (LGA) suggests almost three quarters of town halls are planning to maintain salt stock levels this winter and 18% due to stockpile more.
A quarter of town halls are planning to share gritting machinery with neighbouring authorities in a bid to better deal with sub-zero temperatures, with a fifth sharing staff.
A majority of local authorities have introduced GPS technology to their gritters as part of efforts to better prioritise spreading and avoid route duplication. Quad bikes will also be deployed to treat pavements in town centres, while three quarters of councils plan to use Twitter to provide live updates on gritting.
Cllr Peter Box, the LGA’s transport spokesman, emphasised that keeping the country moving during winter would be ‘a community effort’, with 83% of councils filling grit bins to allow members of the public to access salt.
‘Last winter may have been dominated by flooding and mild temperatures but there is no room for complacency when it comes to being prepared for a cold winter given how unpredictable the weather can be in this country,’ he added.
‘Gritters have already been out testing routes and treating roads when temperatures have dropped below freezing overnight and highway teams are constantly monitoring up-to-the-minute weather reports to stay one step ahead of the weather.’
