The cold snap has finally reached us, this was clear as I stood on a freezing and windy Cornhill in Ipswich, chatting to residents at our final Local Matters event of the year last week. With conversation heavily focussed on what we are doing to prepare residents and services for the wintry weather, I thought it would be the right time to talk about our winter preparations.
One of the biggest seasonal services the county council delivers is the gritting of our roads, treating thousands of miles to help minimise risk for those travelling during winter.
Months before now, highways teams carefully plan for gritting, in total, there are 38 gritters ready for action. You may recall reading that we renamed some of our gritting fleet following a competition we held earlier in the year with Suffolk school children, winning names included Morgan Freezeman, Kieran McSpreader and Spread Sheeran.
The new fleet is equipped with advanced digital systems and the latest route planning software to support drivers to grit their routes efficiently and effectively.
All gritters use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by around 90%, supporting our continued commitment to protect and enhance our environment.
During the last winter season, we used around 7,822 tonnes of salt to treat a total distance of 123,400 miles – which equates to travelling the circumference of earth over five times! Suffolk Highways currently has a stock of around 21,000 tonnes of salt across the county and is well prepared for what the winter has to bring.
Our highway teams are responsible for gritting over half the whole road network in Suffolk, including all A and B roads, roads to fire stations, hospitals, main bus routes and rail stations. We also treat bus routes leading to rural villages and schools when there is a sustained period of cold weather.
All gritting decisions are based on forecasted road surface temperatures, not air temperature, as the road surface temperature is often cooler and reflects the true risk to those travelling on our roads. We are also in the process of refilling grit bins across the county at registered locations, such as the bottom of hills, or on junctions of minor roads.
Suffolk Highways fills grit bins that are approved and owned by parish and town councils, however, to ensure that the contents of grit bins are used to make roads safer, communities are encouraged to monitor how and where the grit is used and request grit refills via the online highways reporting tool.
Please do park considerately and leave enough room so that our gritters can treat the roads – if we can’t fit, we can’t grit!
I must stress that drivers should always take extra care this time of year and drive to the conditions; although the gritting teams have treated the roads, this doesn’t mean they are completely risk-free.
Aside from highways, services across the council have also been busily preparing for winter. The demand on our Adult Social Care services always increases. If you have an elderly or vulnerable neighbour or a relative, please look out for them - they may need help with shopping, clearing paths, walking a dog or to see a friendly face.
When it comes to our schools, headteachers will always make every effort to ensure that their school remains open. However, in extreme conditions it can be very difficult, or even impossible, for pupils and staff to get to school. Individual schools make their own arrangements if they do need to close, therefore the best place to check if your child’s school is open (or partially open) is via that school’s website. When schools tell us about their decision to close, we publish information about any closures on our website.
Our fire service encourages those with open fires to ensure these are safe and guarded and that chimneys and flues are cleaned and serviceable, electric blankets should be bought new and tested every three years.
And lastly, be vigilant when it comes to the blight of scammers, online auction sites or social media marketplaces can be rife with counterfeit goods or products that don’t meet the UK’s safety laws. These often haven’t been properly tested and could pose a serious risk of fire, serious injury or even death.
Residents can find advice at www.suffolk.gov.uk/wintermatters to help you and your loved ones look after your money, health, wellbeing and safety during the colder months. Information will be regularly shared on the council’s social media throughout winter.
