North East councils say they'll not slip up on salt

Dec 15 2009 by Sara Nichol, The Journal

NORTH East councils are well prepared for icy roads this winter, despite half of UK authorities falling short in salt stocks.

The AA yesterday said it had been informed by industry sources that local authorities only had enough road salt to last six days of continuous freezing weather.

But all the councils in the North East said they were well prepared to beat whatever Mother Nature has to throw at them.

The assurances come as the country was told to brace itself for more wintry weather with below-freezing temperatures and snow expected later this week.

Millions have been spent in the region in keeping motorists moving on the roads over the coming months, especially in rural areas such as County Durham and Northumberland where there are winter budgets of more than £2m.

And Durham was commended by the AA for an extra £1m investment in gritting from the NHS.

A spokeswoman for Durham County Council said: “We normally start our winter season with a stockpile of 28,000 tonnes of rock salt, which is what we have at the moment and it’s generally enough to see us through until February.

“Obviously, throughout the winter, we monitor what is left in our stockpile and if we feel we need more we will get more. Last year, we actually helped out other councils when they were running out and sold them some of ours.”

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council added: “All councils deal with salt stocks differently.

“As we’re a remote area, we have lots of space to store salt. Other councils, such as some city councils, won’t have that space and so they buy it as they need it.”