Councils told to cut down on gritting

Jan 9 2010 by Alastair Craig and William Green, The Journal

The Highways Agency said hard shoulders will no longer be gritted to reduce its salt usage by a quarter. Supplies of salt have been ordered from abroad, but will not arrive until January 21.

The move to ration grit sparked Tory claims of “utter failure” by the Government to get a grip on the situation.

But Lord Adonis said all major transport arteries were functioning, apart from some trans-Pennine routes, and claimed that energy supplies were not threatened despite record demand.

Gateshead and Newcastle only have a few days of supplies left compared to South and North Tyneside where there is three weeks’ stock remaining.

Northumberland County Council has four days left but is expecting a 5,000-tonne salt delivery on Monday, as is Newcastle City Council which is down to as little as three days’ supply.

Gateshead Council has two to three days remaining with more on order, and measures are being put in place to conserve stocks for priority routes.

Stocks in Sunderland have dwindled to just four days while Durham County Council is gritting only A and B roads.

The LGA, which represents town halls, said councils would take “prudent measures” to cut salt usage while protecting safety and vital services. But it admitted measures could include restricting gritting to priority road networks.

Lord Adonis also urged Britain to embrace a “Blitz” spirit and told The Journal: “People should do their bit locally and indeed they are doing their bit in terms of doing their drives and what they can do in their own locality.”