Fleet of gritters and stockpile of 5,500 tonnes of salt at the ready across West Northamptonshire

A fleet of 12 gritters and a stockpile of 5,550 tonnes of salt are at the ready across West Northamptonshire as winter approaches.

Kier – West Northamptonshire Council’s highways provider – will begin trial routes and precautionary gritting this weekend.

The fleet of gritters are is set to grit more than 1,100 miles of the road network and the council has a stockpile of more than 5,500 tonnes of salt ready to use on public roads and foot paths over the winter months. According to the council, more than 880 grit bins have also been filled.

The fleet of gritters will also all have names this year, thanks to schoolchildren, who came up with names such as Pretty Gritty, RoadZipper and Gritzilla.

Councillor Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “By working together with Kier, we have taken all necessary precautions to ensure that our roads are kept safe for our communities as we enter the winter months – and prepare for the cold snap ahead. Our 12-strong fleet of gritters are set to head out on the network from this weekend when required.

“As the cold weather approaches, this can cause a major impact on our roads and an increase in road defects and potholes. We will continue to work with Kier to ensure these are resolved as quickly as possible, and advise all residents to report any road defects via our website with location details and photos so we can resolve this.”

John Coombes, general manager at Kier Transportation, added: “Our crews are on standby 24/7 during the winter months, as we work to keep road conditions safe and quickly respond to any changing weather conditions. We will be mobilising our gritting fleet in trial routes this weekend.

“We urge road users to be vigilant – as even once a road has received a gritting treatment, the salt requires activation from the movement of vehicles and drivers should take extra care. We also actively encourage feedback from the community to help us to continue to deliver a resilient and reliable service.”

As stocks run low, people can also report bins that need refilling via the Street Doctor service at www.westnorthants.gov.uk/roads-and-paths/grit-bins.