This page provides details about our resources and what resilience we have to keep the borough moving during severe winter conditions.
We hope you find the answer to your question here, but if you need more help please call Highways Customer Care on 01443 866511 or email Highways Customer Care.
Gritters
We have a fleet of 13 state of the art gritters which are supplied by ECON - the UK's leading supplier of winter maintenance equipment.
Our fleet of gritters have a 'low throw' spreading device, which distributes the salt on the road at a lower level than the traditional gritters. This ensures that the majority of the grit is kept on the roads and minimises the amount of grit, which bounces up and hits cars.
All the gritters are fitted with a GPS tracking system, which provides live and archived data. The tracking system lets us know the exact route the gritters have travelled, the start and finish time of the treatment, the speed they travelled at, the extent of the road they treated and the amount of grit which was spread on the roads, amongst other vital information.
Our fleet of gritters also have demountable snow ploughs, which can be fitted, to clear snow from the highway.
Salt supply
Ahead of winter 2011/12 we ordered and received 10,000 tonnes of grit, which is being stored and covered over to protect it from the weather and to preserve its quality.
We have a restocking arrangement with our supplier, Salt Union, who will maintain our stocks throughout the winter period. The amount we stock will reduce towards the end of the winter as the risk of snow and ice diminishes.
Salt storage depot
We have highways winter service depots in Pontlottyn, Pontllanfraith and Bedwas where 4000 tonnes of salt is stored throughout the winter period. We have additional salt stocks of 6000 tonnes at strategic locations to supplement the stocks at our depots.
A restocking arrangement is in place with our supplier, Salt Union, who will maintain our stocks throughout the winter period. The amount we stock will reduce towards the end of the winter as the risk of snow and ice diminishes.
The stockpile is covered to protect it from the weather and prevent the grit from deteriorating.
Winter staffing
Our internal contracting section provide the highways winter service on a 24 hour basis throughout the whole winter season from mid November to mid April.
The winter service is also coordinated within the wider council so other services are able to provide resources where needed during extreme winter weather events.