A gritter being loaded with salt

People urged to take care in wintry weather

People are reminded to take care over the coming days with wintry conditions continuing to hit the region. 

Gritting teams have been working around the clock, as they do every winter, gritting the county’s roads – focusing on the main routes before moving onto some of the smaller roads.  

This week teams have been working 24/7 since 4am on Monday morning. A total of 28 frontline gritters have been treating the road network daily - over 1,100 miles of road network are treated as part of our primary road network.  

During snow conditions the gritting teams will also treating the priority footways in towns. Once these key routes are treated, they will work outwards to treat as many of the main pedestrian routes as possible. 

With over 5,000kms of road in Northumberland, gritting everywhere is not possible, and drivers are urged to allow extra time for their journeys if they need to travel and leave extra distance for braking. 

The council has 1,600 grit bins and 200 grit heaps around the county. Grit bins are there for people to use on a self-help basis to grit areas of public roads and footways of concern and we would remind anyone using the salt to also take care for their own safety. 

The council has refilled grit bins following the previous prolonged period of ice and snow in December and will refill grit bins again where required when it is made aware. People need to log a request via https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Highways/Winter.aspx 

In the current conditions, anyone travelling is also urged to take some basic kit should they get into difficulties – these include warm clothes, a hot drink (flask) and shovel. 

Meanwhile the council, together with its community partners, is growing a network of over 150 warm, safe spaces where residents can enjoy a hot drink, have conversations with others or join in activities if they would like. 

Find your nearest warm space here: Cost of Living Support Hub  

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Local Services, said: “With the forecasts of snow and sleet over the coming days our teams will be continuing their work to keep communities safe and the county moving. 

“We’d advise people to keep a close eye on the weather and if conditions deteriorate think about whether they need to travel. If they do people should allow extra time for their journeys.” 

 

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  • School closures 

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  • Winter service information 

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Twitter: @northumberlands 
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