Powys residents asked which roads should be gritted in winter

The council report outlines five potential tiers of road organised by priority from A-roads to village routes

Which roads - big and small - should be gritted over the winter months?

That's the question residents in a county with one of the UK's biggest road networks are being asked as officials review their priorities.

Powys has the second largest of any UK county, with 5,500km (3,400 miles), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A council report outlines five potential tiers, from A-roads to larger towns to ones serving villages.

A review in 2019 agreed that the county's roads would no longer get a second salt treatment, unless judged necessary on the day, which was agreed against backdrop of council budget cuts.

• All major road building projects in Wales scrapped

• Villagers block traffic in bypass protest

Snowy weather hit parts of Wales, including Clyro, near Hay-on-Wye, earlier this month

The gritting review will not look at trunk roads through Powys, such as the A470 and A483, which are managed differently on behalf of the Welsh government.

Trunk roads make up 430km (270 miles) in Powys with 240km (150 miles) of category A county roads.

Senior highways manager Shaun James said: "The winter route hierarchy currently in use has not had a major review for 20 years.

"During which time changes have taken place to the location of amenities, transport links, essential services, and best practice."

The five potential tiers which go from high to low priority are:

• Tier 1, purple - Strategic roads with a traffic volume of 20,000 vehicles or more, likely to be A-roads or class one roads

• Tier 2, blue - Roads with a traffic volume of 5,000 to 10,000 vehicles - secondary factors also include locations like bus stations and car parks and is likely to cover bigger towns such as Brecon, Llandrindod Wells, Machynlleth, Newtown and Ystradgynlais

• Tier 3, grey - Likely to be roads in and out of the county's larger villages

• Tier 4, yellow - Roads serving smaller villages

• Tier 5, orange - Minor roads serving rural communities or "limited growth settlements"

The report said a "public engagement exercise is proposed to help the service shape this model".

Meanwhile, the financial implication of any changes will be considered in a separate report.