Councils well prepared for icy roads, LGA assures

The Local Government Association (LGA) has assured that local authorities have stocked up with grit well in advance to prepare for icy weather.

It comes after the winter of 2008-09, when the UK ran ‘dangerously low’ on rock salt and councils were forced to ration it by treating only primary routes.

However, the LGA’s annual Winter Readiness Survey has shown that this year local authorities are ready for a harsh winter, with half of respondents reporting they are at the limit of salt storage capacity.

The survey indicated that 80 per cent of councils have placed community grit bins for residents to access salt for pavements and side streets, and 75 per cent are using state-of-the-art GPS technology on the gritting fleets.

Councillor Martin Tett, LGA Transport spokesman, said: “Councils are fully prepared to protect residents and minimise disruption to their residents caused by the drop in temperatures.

“We are well prepared for the cold with 1.2 million tonnes of salt stockpiled and a fleet of state-of-the-art gritters ready to be deployed.”