Essex Gets Ready For Winter

Essex County Council (ECC) recently held a winter service launch event at the Springfield Highways Depot in Chelmsford – one of seven depots located across the county where final preparations are currently being made for the winter period.

ECC has been working closely with its contractors to ensure that salt stocks are back at full capacity in time for the start of the season. This year additional orders have been placed to ensure that the county has sufficient supplies in the event of another harsh winter.

The county’s fleet of 65 winter gritters will be ready to mobilise throughout the winter season, with 120 personnel on call over a 24 hour period

ECC is required to focus its gritting resources on keeping major roads clear, so it operates a precautionary salting network. This includes all ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads, access routes for emergency services, rural link roads and major public transport routes.

Residents can check which roads will be gritted by visiting www.essex.gov.uk/winter.

180 parish and town councils have signed up for ECC’s new winter salt bag scheme, which gives greater control to local communities. Participating councils will receive one tonne of salt – packaged in 20kg sealed bags – for use on areas of the highway which cause most concern in icy conditions. Local volunteers will take responsibility for spreading the salt.

All ECC salt bins will be filled in time for the start of the winter. This salt is to be used sparingly on the highway, not private residencies. ECC cannot guarantee that bins will be refilled during the winter, as resources have to be prioritised to ensure the main road network is covered.

Residents are advised to prepare for winter driving by checking the condition of their car tyres and battery, and packing an emergency kit in case they get stuck for a while (containing items like warm clothing, bottled water, mobile phone and a torch)

Residents are also advised that they can take action to clear their own local pavements and pathways of snow and ice, as long as they take a careful and common sense approach.  Further guidance on this is available at www.essex.gov.uk/winter.

County Councillor Tracey Chapman, Cabinet Member for Highways & Transportation said: “Keeping the main Essex road network safe throughout winter is a top priority. We have ensured that salt supplies are back at full capacity, and with our new salt bag scheme we are providing resources to local communities to deal with problem areas.

“We will be keeping our residents well informed with the latest information throughout winter, and are working in partnership with district and borough councils to provide the best service possible.”