Winter Service Policy - Treatment
Treatment precautionary and post salting (Carriageways)
When potential hazardous road conditions have been forecast, all pre-defined precautionary salting routes on the carriageway network will be treated as necessary within specified times to prevent ice from forming or to melt ice already formed.
Depending on the severity of forecast conditions treatment will be extended to non-precautionary priority 2 routes (Secondary Routes).
Precautionary and post salting (Footways)
Treatment of pre-defined footways was introduced in 2006/2007 and will continue this year (2025/2026). Within limited areas and with prior warning, the street cleansing, grounds maintenance and highway works contractors can be diverted from their routine tasks to undertake pretreatment of high usage footways. When snow is forecast, depending on the severity, precautionary salting of footways subjected to high usage in pre-defined town centres, routes to transport interchanges and areas outside schools will be undertaken when practicable.
When extreme hazardous conditions are predicted or occur due to freezing rainfall, deposits of dew or a light dusting of snow, post salting of footways will commence as soon as possible in town centres, routes to transport interchanges, and areas outside schools.
In the event of a snowfall additional resources will be mobilised for clearance once the severity of lying snow and the likely effect of the weather conditions forecast for the next 2 to 5 days has been established.
Snow clearance (Carriageway)
Snow clearance from carriageways will commence as soon as possible in the following priorities and as implemented under the Snow Response Plan.
- All roads covered by primary salting routes.
- All roads covered by secondary salting routes
- All sections of road covered by the tertiary (P3) network. The tertiary P3 network shall comprise steep inclines on residential streets, rural roads and other adopted highway.
- Progress being dependant on resource avaliability
Requests for ad hoc treatments to roads that do not appear on the P1, P2 and P3 above will be declined unless an emergency situation applies.
Residents living on non prioritised side roads are encouraged to join the Snow Friends scheme and act swiftly to clear the highway within the vicinity of their home so as to create a usable route to the treated network.
Snow clearance (Footways)
Snow clearance from footways will commence as soon as resources can be mobilised. These resources will be allocated to the pre-defined town centres, routes to transport interchanges and areas outside schools of locations as implemented under the Snow Response Plan.
Salt spreading resources will be focused on highly used priority town centres, transport interchanges and outside schools where snow accumulations are present.
Requests for ad hoc treatments to footways that do not appear on the priority list above will be declined unless an emergency situation applies.
As a result of the Winter Service review of actions season 2023/2024 treatments to areas outside schools will be rationalised. These sections of footway will only be treated when the forecast indicates that the settled snow will ice over and schools are due to open. In cases where the fallen snow will melt during the day when schools may be closed no action will be undertaken.
The council’s Snow Friends scheme will be promoted and used to enable residents to clear footways that are not being treated by the Authority.
Snow clearance (Cycleways)
Dependant on the extent of use, it is the intention that snow clearance from cycleways that form part of the carriageway will be accomplished where possible after securing free flow of vehicle traffic. Cycleways that share footways will be cleared only in accordance with the priority list allocated to footways.