Local councils could fund extra grit bins under new winter policy

Local councils around Stone could be given a new way to secure additional grit bins for roads that do not meet Staffordshire County Council’s usual criteria.

The proposed Winter Service Policy would allow town and parish councils to pay for extra bins where they believe there is a local need, with the county council providing and maintaining them on their behalf.

Existing roads treated under the previous policy will continue to be gritted during the 2026/27 winter season.

The updated policy, which replaces one introduced 11 years ago, is due to go before Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 16 September.

Members of the council’s Economy, Infrastructure and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the proposals at their latest meeting.

How additional grit bins would work

Councillor Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways, told the committee

“All the roads that were treated under the 2015/16 policy will be treated under this new policy from October onwards.

“It also incorporates management of gritting and grit bins out there. That isn’t about nearly 3,000 grit bins we already have on our map identified as strategic or community-led and are part of our filling plan, but it’s about requests, and there were a lot of requests this year, for additional grit bins in certain areas where they wouldn’t meet assessment criteria.

“I have tried to develop a policy that allows members or local councils, be it parish, town, borough or district, to say ‘for our community needs we will fund a grit bin in our area’ and Staffordshire County Council will be the service provider for it.

“They don’t have to buy it, they don’t have to get a third party to fill it, they can come to us and we will do it on their behalf but it’s at their expense.”

The change could provide Stone Town Council and parish councils in surrounding communities with a way to secure additional bins where a location does not qualify under the county council’s assessment process.

Councillor Mason said the proposal would not affect existing bins or mean communities were being charged for services they already received.

He added

“It wasn’t about taking anything away or making people pay twice for filling the grit bins we already fill, it’s purely additional.

“It also wraps up any that have already been provided that may have been ad hoc by other councils that are sat on the highway network we should be aware of.

“We should know how they’re being maintained, how they’re being insured and who to contact in case of any issues.”

Questions raised over last winter

Committee member Councillor Simon Tagg questioned what improvements residents would see following problems during the cold weather in January.

He said

“Last winter, particularly January 6, we had well-documented community disapproval of the gritting the county council carried out on North Staffordshire’s roads.

“When people see a new policy coming forward, they want to see what has been improved on from the old policy but also what has been learned from particularly last year, which is fresh in people’s minds.

“We saw probably not the quality of gritting we have previously seen on Staffordshire’s roads. I would like to ask what tangible improvements will residents see compared with last winter?

“I know gritting is difficult. But on balance last year, particularly in the beginning of that snow episode at the beginning of January, the council was left wanting.”

Councillor Mason said he did not accept that description of the county council’s response.

He said

“There were challenges, but the challenges were brought about by external circumstances.

“The gritting that took place from the beginning of January, right through that cold snap, was wholly encompassing of the entire primary and secondary routes; two grittings of primary a day and a gritting of secondary every day, at least one.

“There were no roads that weren’t gritted during that period, we have the data and we published it at the time.

“However a couple of things came into play, one was the extreme low temperatures, which brought the road temperatures down to the point where the grit became less effective.

“Because of the low temperatures and the weather traffic volumes fell significantly, and it relies on activation, so we weren’t getting the constant activation of it and that resulted in less than efficient outcome.”

Councillor Mason said the new policy would maintain treatment across around 40 per cent of Staffordshire’s road network while introducing a more modern system for assessing which routes should be gritted.

Roads which could have been removed following the reassessment will continue to be treated as exceptions during the coming winter.