Grit bins filled ahead of winter weather

All Surrey County Council’s 1,741 grit bins have been filled to help people treat roads and pavements in their communities this winter.

The fill-up is part of the council’s plans to keep Surrey moving during freezing weather. The bins are being fitted with barcodes for the first time to enable the council to remotely monitor stocks

John Furey, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: “With temperatures turning colder, we’ve made sure our grit bins are filled up before any snow hits Surrey.

“We’ve got a huge operation ready to tackle winter weather, but the truth is we can’t do everything. It will be a big benefit to communities if people use the grit from our bins to treat roads and pavements, but we’d ask them only to use what they need, so it goes as far as possible.”

This year, local communities and parish councils can buy a grit bin and put it on the roadside to further help people play their part in tackling ice and snow.

Along with the grit bins, Surrey County Council’s winter preparations include:
· 16,000 tonnes of salt already in stock
· A fleet of 39 gritting lorries ready for action 24/7, equipped with GPS trackers
· Off road 4×4 vehicles to tackle hard to reach places
· An army of 51 farmers primed to treat rural areas
· Thermal mapping of salting routes
· Advanced ice predictions systems fed with information from roadside weather stations

Check out a video of Surrey’s winter preparations below

ENDS

Media requiring more information can contact Surrey County Council senior media relations officer James Oxley on 0208 541 7259 or at james.oxley@surreycc.gov.uk.