New gritter fleet gets dry run ahead of winter

Eight new gritters were taken on dry runs across Herefordshire along with seven others already in the council's fleet

A newly expanded fleet of gritters has been given its first outing as staff prepare for winter on Herefordshire's roads.

The eight new gritters, worth £1.16m, have been taken on dry runs across the county alongside seven existing vehicles.

A further £180,000 was spent on renewing “outdated” weather monitoring and forecasting stations by Herefordshire Council.

The practice runs are a crucial part of preparations to ensure the county is "winter-ready”, a spokesperson for the local authority said.

Simon Robinson, from the council’s contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places, said their team have also got used to their new weather forecast provider.

The council’s cabinet member for roads Barry Durkin said: “As we know from previous years, challenging conditions can arise very rapidly so whatever the weather, we encourage people to be aware of the forecasts and please always take care on our roads and pavements.”

For its population, Herefordshire has a relatively high mileage of priority routes, extending to 600 miles (966km) around the county with a further 420 miles (676km) of secondary routes which are treated when necessary.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.