Council to take hard look at its winter planning

An "in-depth review" will be held into the way Surrey County Council deals with winter weather, it has been revealed.

Speaking to the Advertiser about how the council dealt with one of the worst winters Surrey has seen in decades, Ian Lake, cabinet member for transport, said: "We are going to have an in-depth review and look at what we did well, and what we can do better, to go to the select committee to see what may be done next year.

"We are always looking to improve and learn, and we will be looking at the provision of more salt bins."

The council sparked controversy when it announced it was cutting "Priority 2" road gritting and would only grit them in periods of persistent frost.

During the spate of cold weather, the Advertiser was inundated with complaints from residents who felt trapped in their homes by unsalted roads.

Gita Bhanot said that during the snowy weather, many residents in Chart Downs were literally stuck, as they became isolated in the estate.

She said: "They should really make sure that the hill is cleared because it is not just used by people in Chart Downs but by people in Blackbrook Road and people in Goodwyns.

"The A24 was fine but in our estate, you couldn't get out.

"The hill still had snow on it when everywhere else had cleared."

However, Mr Lake did assert that the council had made grit provisions this winter.

He said: "From last February, we stockpiled 9,000 tonnes before the weather – that is 3,000 more than last year.

"In the average Surrey winter, we would expect to use 6,000.

"But this was the worst winter in 30 years and there was a national grit shortage.

"We would like to treat every road but the costs would be phenomenal."

Mr Lake added: "During the period of severe weather, we salted 50 per cent of the network.

"In terms of getting our roads covered, we did very well."

Mr Lake was asked if the council would consider the Advertiser's petition to "Stop the Slip, Give us Grit", which will be handed in at the end of winter in the hope it will influence how gritting is dealt with next winter.

He said: "We are certainly going to be reviewing things but funds are extremely tight."