Where were the gritters in Gedling borough? Council responds to criticism

A council has clarified their gritting strategy after criticism from councillors, an MP and members of the public about the way the borough’s roads were managed during the heavy snowfall on Saturday.

In statement, Nottinghamshire County Council defended their gritting plan and said disruptions were ‘inevitable’ due to the amount of snow that fell on Saturday.

Gritting team manager Kevin Heathcote of Via East Midlands, which delivers highways services on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council, including winter maintenance, said: “Our gritting teams have been working around the clock to help the county stay on the move during this recent bout of wintry conditions. We have already more than doubled amount of runs compared to last winter.

“Our activity is closely based on weather forecasts. So based on this, our crews were out gritting main routes and severe weather routes, late on Friday evening and early Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning, including the Gedling district.  We had nearly 50 staff working shifts over the weekend.

“Gritters spreading grit on the road is only the start of the deicing process.  Applying salt to the road does not guarantee that snow will not settle, as was the case on Saturday, as it was falling too quickly for salt to mix with it.

“Vehicle movement can help break the snow down and allow the salt to activate more quickly, so when traffic levels are low, roads can remain icy or snowy for some time, particularly given the amount of snow we had this weekend.

“Therefore it was a case of trying to manage the situation and keep treating and ploughing as necessary.  By mid-morning on Sunday the main roads were clear and easily accessible.

“With the amount of snow we’ve had  it’s inevitable that driving conditions will be tricky with some short-term disruptions – particularly when it comes to hilly routes.

“We are very thankful for the public’s support and patience in such tough conditions.

“Our teams remain on 24 hour standby, which has been the case since last November, with teams due to be out tonight gritting main routes.”

Nottinghamshire County Council were criticised yesterday by leaders from Gedling Borough Council about the way the borough was managed during the cold weather.

In a statement, Cllr Michael Payne, deputy leader of Gedling Bought Council, said: “Slower than normal gritting response by the County Council left a number of main gritting routes closed by the middle of the evening.

The statement also claimed that “bus routes were severely affected, leaving many residents to walk home from Nottingham and surrounding areas, which they said was “clearly unacceptable.”