Last month’s Cold Comfort Conference & Exhibition demonstrated, above all else, the dramatic improvement in standards of winter service delivery in the UK.
But while critics will argue that should have always been the case, councils have taken upon themselves to become more effective, more effi - cient and above all else, more resilient. Improvements have been made in salt storage, how the salt is being used on the network and the use of treated salt.
Investment has been made in equipment, from more effi cient and accurate spreaders to the use of ploughs on the network. There is a buzz around the sector at the moment as authorities continue to develop and improve their strategies.
The release of the newly revised Appendix H guidance, which forms part of Well Maintained Highways, offers a signifi cant opportunity for authorities to raise the bar still further in terms of winter service and I would urge all councils to consider what benefi ts could be brought from implementing the right strategies using Appendix H. Such good guidance, based on years of scientifi c and best practice based research is a rarity and should be not only welcomed but used as a benchmark for other areas of highways and transport service delivery.
APSE’s latest winter service survey (see page 20) confi rms all the above. It says, of the authorities it surveyed, 80% had increased salt storage levels, with 44% changing their spread rates. The survey also revealed there were changes to gritting routes and a lot more community engagement as well as investment in new technology.
However, one fact above all else from the survey needs to be highlighted. More than 60% of respondents said they had no access to extra funding over the past four years. Understandable, you might think, given the Government’s round of cuts. But the message for council members here is authorities cannot afford to be complacent with winter.
More for less is possible but a reminder of the 2008/9 and 2009/10 winters should be enough to make sure funding levels don’t fall any lower. Adrian Tatum, Group Content E
