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Councils stock up on salt ready for gritting season
Page 12
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0,vid HarrIs COUNCILS ARE stocking up on road salt earlier than usual this year, to ensure they have enough for when the gritting season starts in October.
Several councils came in for criticism last year, because they ran out of road salt during some severe cold snaps.
Leicestershire County Council is among those that have ordered more grit than usual,with a delivery of 8,000 tonnes already in its salt barns following the experiences last year, which a spokesman described as "the most severe snow and ice since 19917 Last year, the council used 16,423 tonnes of salt on 17 precautionary gritting runs 60% more salt than usual.
The Highways Agency is currently bringing a new generation of gritting vehicles into service. It is investing £45m over four years in the vehicles Among many UK hauliers to complain about the inadequate gritting last year was Bernard Howard. owner of Peterborough-based PC Howard.
After being unable to deliver to some of his customers for two days. he set up a meeting with Northamptonshire County Council to discuss the problem. One suggestion at that meeting was that the council could give hauliers their own supplies of grit.
The council also said that it would ensure strategic salt dumps were set up all over the county Howard says that he would believe there would be an improvement when he saw it, but that his firm had not been given any salt.
-We've had to buy our own,he adds.
Kate Gibbs, head of communications for the Road Haulage Association, believes gritting on the nation's roads failed during the last two bouts of icy weather. "Let's hope it's third time lucky," she says.