Yahoo News Fears of traffic chaos on Britain’s winter roads as councils face running out of grit
There are fears of traffic chaos on Britain’s roads this winter as councils are running out of grit.
The government says a number of councils have allowed salt supplies to fall following last year’s icy winter.
Roads minister Jesse Norman has written to councils in England warning them to “guard against any complacency”, The Times reported.
The Local Government Association (LGA) says mosts councils are prepared for colder weather this year, with 1.4 million tonnes of salt stockpiled.
There are an average of nine full-size road gritters in each area, it said.
But the LGA has suggested that more that more than one in 20 councils has less salt this year than they did last year.
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It said many councils are sharing salt stocks because of budget cuts.
In the letter to councils, Mr Norman said: “I want to highlight again the importance of key steps needed in order to ensure that local highways remain open and running in the event of severe weather.
“Last year, after a long and difficult winter, we saw a number of authorities with reduced salt stocks.
“Unfortunately, this led to a few authorities having to request mutual aid.
“With this in mind, we have made it clear that we expect authorities to guard against any complacency in managing and maintaining their salt stocks.”
The government advises councils to keep 12 days’ worth of salt in storage in case of a sudden snowfall or big freeze.
That is enough for about 48 trips by gritting lorries.
The Department for Transport has an emergency salt stockpile of more than 270,000 tonnes, while Highways England has another 95,000 tonnes.
However, the department says this is “salt of last resort” to be used only “in the event of prolonged severe winter weather across the country”.
