Winter Readiness Survey Says Local Authorities "Well Prepared" for Winter – Are You?

Local authorities are better prepared than ever for the predicted snow this winter, but they won't be carrying out car park gritting and snow clearance for your private business or organisation. This could mean that customers and employees who have been able to travel to your premises because of timely action from local authorities, may not be able to park or safely get into your buildings because car  parks, walkways and steps are covered in snow and ice. As well as posing a danger to workers and visitors, this also lays organisations open to liability claims if injury occurs because car park gritting has not been carried out.

With winter 2013/14 well and truly here and many areas of the UK already experiencing some snow flurries and overnight hard frosts, local authorities are on full alert, and it seems that the lessons of the past few years have been learned. Here we take a look at how well prepared local authorities are for the anticipated ice and snow, and what private companies and organisations can do to keep their operation up and running safely this winter.

Valuable Lessons Learned
The past few winters have shown that severely cold weather can be expected throughout the UK, and is no longer a "one off" as it used to be. In 2009/10, many people in the UK were caught out by the unexpected severity of that winter, with local authorities facing criticism about shortages of salt, grit and vehicles, resulting in a failure to keep main routes open.

It seems that this year local authorities are well prepared, with good stocks of gritting supplies and machinery and, more importantly, with clear plans in place to deal with snow. All authorities have clearly identified and published the main routes they will be targeting, making it easier for businesses and residents to predict which roads are likely to be gritted – and where they need to take action themselves.

Local Authorities Prepared for Winter 2013/14
According to the Winter Readiness Survey for 2013/14, carried out by the Local Government Association, 94% of local authorities have secured required levels of salt supplies before the beginning of the gritting season, with good confidence that these levels are adequate for a long and severe winter. Authorities also have adequate numbers of vehicles, with an average of 9 full sized gritters, either owned or leased, and 1 mini-gritter each.

Councils have also made arrangements to cooperate with neighbouring areas to ensure efficient coverage, making arrangements, for instance, to share salt supplies as necessary. And they are also well up to speed in terms of using technology to improve gritting activities (e.g. using GPS to help manage gritting routes more effectively) and communications with the public (e.g. using their website, Twitter or even Facebook to keep residents and businesses well informed about gritting activities).

One of the best prepared local authorities is in the Scottish county of East Renfrewshire, whose plan involves the gritting and/or clearing of 65% of roads – more than any other local authority. In addition, they have made good arrangements for plenty of salt bins for use by local residents and businesses on smaller roads or other critical areas.

On average, local authorities have plans to grit or clear 43% of their road networks. Understandably, this consists primarily of major routes, followed by selected other routes, especially where these involve access to key public institutions such as hospitals and schools. Smaller residential roads, as usual, may not be gritted at all – but many will be in reach of a local authority provided salt bin, enabling members of the public to treat roads and pavements in their area. However, private roads, driveways and car parks belonging to businesses, such as store and hotel car parks, delivery yards and so on, do not fall under local authority responsibility and it is up to business owners to organise gritting and clearing of these areas.

Private Road & Car Park Gritting – The Missing Link
A large number of organisations depend heavily on the ability of employees, visitors or residents to be able to easily access their premises in order to function. This includes:

• Shops, supermarkets and retail parks – customer car parks and delivery yards
• Warehouses and distribution centres – heavy goods deliveries, loading and unloading
• Hospitals – patient and visitor car parks, emergency vehicle loading/unloading areas
• Hotels and restaurants – staff and customer car parks
• Offices – car parks, walkways and delivery areas
• Private estates and apartment buildings – private access roads and communal car parking areas
• Sheltered housing and care homes – parking areas for care staff, visitors and residents

Relying on DIY car park gritting is unreliable, especially if this depends on individual employees to be able to attend. Gritting is most effective when it is carried out before the snow arrives, which can often mean gritting the evening before or overnight – which may not be a reasonable prospect for individual staff members, especially if they are then expected to work the next day.

Fortunately, the issue can be taken care of quite easily and reliably by using a professional car park gritting company such as Ice Watch. Not only do we monitor local weather conditions to ensure you don't get caught out, but we ensure attendance at your premises at whatever time of day or night is necessary to ensure gritting is carried out in good time and/or snow is cleared in readiness for your employees and customers.

Winter Gritting - Find out more about how Ice Watch can keep your business moving this winter.