Gritter fleet ready for winter weather

The fleet will be around until the end of March 2026

A fleet of gritters is ready to keep a county's residents on the roads this winter the local authority says.

Surrey Council Council (SCC) believes its 39 state-of-the art vehicles are ready should the threat of severe weather arise.

Each gritter has been named by local school children and will have access to 10,000 tonnes of salt stored across SCC's four depots.

Matt Furniss, cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth, said, "When temperatures plummet, we're committed to keeping drivers safe."

The fleet also includes two new mini gritters designed to reach areas larger vehicles find too hard to access. Last year 1,935 individual routes were treated.

In addition, 1,000 grit bins have also been filled along non-priority routes which may have difficult road junctions, slopes, acute bends or a large numbers of pedestrians.

"Our gritter drivers are prepared to work around the clock to keep traffic moving on our busiest routes, and we have more on standby than ever before," said Furniss.

"Our Immediate Response Centre will also continue to support communities and we will work closely with the Met Office to monitor weather conditions throughout the season."

The service runs until the end of March 2026, although that can be extended if required.