Council gives assurance on winter roads gritting
HIGHLAND Council’s chairman of transport, environmental and community services committee has given assurance that winter gritting will continue despite local authority shackles on spending.
Councillor Graham Phillips said that regardless of the severe restraints on council spending the local authority has managed to maintain its winter gritting budget at previous levels.
“Our £4.7million winter maintenance budget is sufficient to deal with an average winter,” he said.
“In the case of winter treatments the budget can only be an estimate and the actual spend will be dictated by the weather conditions.
“We will continue to deliver the council’s winter maintenance policy and if necessary we will allocate additional funding, as it has in previous years, to ensure the service is maintained throughout the winter period.”
Mr Phillips said manpower levels and the number of snowplough and gritting vehicles have remained the same for several years and there are no plans to reduce the service.
He added: “I would like to extend my appreciation the efforts of all our staff, who go out in all weathers and often dangerous conditions to keep the roads safe for the rest of us.”
The council is responsible for 4,200 miles (6,700km) of roads and on average 60,000 tonnes of salt per year are used to keep the routes safe.
The Highland Council’s snow clearing/gritting route policies and area maps are online for 2012/13 at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting/.