Gritting Policy Statement

1. POLICY STATEMENT

1.1 It is the Borough Council’s policy to attempt to maintain safe road surfaces at all times, as far as the resources available for undertaking this work permit.

1.2 The objective of the Borough Council is to initiate and manage procedures for dealing with weather emergencies, enabling as far as reasonably possible, the safe movement of traffic on the highway network throughout the Borough.

1.3 At times of predicted low temperatures the Borough Council aims to provide a winter maintenance service enabling as far as is reasonably possible the safe movement of traffic on all A and B class roads and other well trafficked roads throughout the Borough (Primary routes).

1.4 The Council has agreed that its StreetCare Term Works Contractor will provide a standby and basic facility for a period of twenty one weeks. This will commence on the second week in November and finish the last week of March.

1.5 Pre-salting and snow clearance of the Primary routes will be carried out based on information received from the weather forecasting service. In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to apply salt after the formation of icy patches due to unforeseen circumstances such as burst water mains for example.

1.6 For precautionary salting, response and treatment times are 1 hour and 3 hours respectively.

1.7 When snow falls and accumulates on highway surfaces, ploughs and other appropriate plant will be used to remove snow and salt will be spread to help melt the snow and to prevent ice forming on the highway network throughout the Borough.

1.8 As the Highway Authority, Bracknell Forest Borough Council has a duty under section 150 of the Highways Act 1980 and section 111 of the Railway Safety Act 2003 to remove accumulations of snow:

“In particular, highway authority are under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice”.

1.9 This is not an absolute duty, given the qualification of “reasonable practical”. Given the scale of financial and other resources involved in delivering the Winter Maintenance Service and obvious difficulties in maintaining high levels of plant utilisation for specialist equipment, it is not practically possible either to:

Provide the service on all parts of the network;

Ensure running surfaces are kept free of ice or snow at all times, even on the treated parts of the network.

1.10 Roads will, therefore, be cleared of snow in descending order of priority until such time as all the Primary pre-salting routes are cleared. Then, if other roads are physically blocked or particularly hazardous and there is a need for access, further action will be taken.

1.11 The Council has agreed that the primary network of footways and cycleways in town centres, neighbourhood centres and outside schools and subway approaches will also be cleared of snow.

1.12 Salt bins are provided at specific locations where there is a need to undertake regular spot salting. The following criteria for the placement has been adopted where by all two points have to be met:

(i)The bin should not be sited on a primary salting route unless it is intended for use on an adjoining road, which is not on the route.

(ii)Only sited where there is a continuous steep and/or hazardous gradient of at least 10% (1 in 10) and where there are occupied buildings nearby.