Mild winter cuts Hertfordshire County Council’s gritting runs by more than half

Hertfordshire County Council’s gritting team did fewer than half the number of outings in the winter than it did in the previous salting season.

In the seven months to April 30, the 70 vehicles covered just under 100,000km (60,000 miles), reflecting milder weather. They are back at the depot until the next on-call period begins on October 1.

Ross Bevan, HCC’s winter service manager, said: “The winter season for 2023-24 saw us carry out 38 gritting runs in total, which is less than half the number of runs [80] we did in the 2022-23 season and also below what we would predict for a ‘typical’ winter season in Hertfordshire.

“While the milder temperatures were welcome in some respects, we still had to deal with severe winds and rain, which put significant pressure on the highways service more widely.

“Twenty of the season’s gritting runs came across January, when we had wind and rain followed by the winter’s one genuine cold snap. This created plenty of work for our gritting fleet, along with the pothole damage that this kind of freeze and thaw condition creates.

“More generally, we are continuing to see two broad trends in Hertfordshire and the wider UK, which is that winter on the whole is becoming more mild, but that the cold snaps we do get are tending to be very cold when they arrive.

“The winter team will now enjoy spring when it finally arrives in full... and spend the summer months reviewing our winter procedures and preparing for the 2024-25 winter season, which always seems to creep up quicker than expected!”

The team dealt with the aftermath of a fire at the council’s King’s Langley depot, which disrupted the use of gritting vehicles and salt stock at the end of January.

In addition, Herts County Council processed nearly 400 winter self-help salt orders, which included a record number of schools this year, along with almost 100 new salt bins assessed, approved and placed on the network.