Badenoch and Strathspey Winter Maintenance Plan set for 2018/19

Badenoch and Strathspey Councillors have set their priorities for how The Highland Council will grit roads within the area this winter at a meeting of the Badenoch and Strathspey Area Committee held in Grantown on Spey today (Tuesday 21 August 2018).

Members have approved a winter maintenance plan for Badenoch and Strathspey Area, which includes priority road lists and maps showing the priority gritting routes.

The Committee discussed the priorities of gritting a network of 99km primary routes (25%), 76km secondary routes (20%) and 215km other routes (55%) in the Badenoch and Strathspey area.

Primary routes are treated first, followed by secondary routes and crews will only move on to treat other roads when the primary and secondary routes are all completed.

Chair of the Badenoch and Strathspey Area Committee, Cllr Bill Lobban said: “Our winter maintenance priorities are vital in Badenoch and Strathspey Area as all our roads are over 150 metres above sea level which makes us more vulnerable to ice and frost on higher routes. There is a fine line to be achieved in ensuring that our gritting priorities can deliver with the amount of resources available while meeting the needs of motorists and pedestrians. We will monitor the agreed plan throughout winter to make sure we respond to changes in weather using our existing resources to best effect and we will be paying close attention to the changes in weekend treatments.”

The routes have been set within the context of the Council’s current Winter Maintenance Policy which was recently approved at the 16 August, Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee. The Council’s policy is in place to ensure a consistent level of service is applied across all areas of the Highlands.  Each year local areas put in place their Winter Maintenance Plan to cover the operational details in order to deliver a service locally within existing budget and resources.

Badenoch and Strathspey Area employs 11 staff delivering winter maintenance supported by Amenity, Streets and Waste staff. Five gritters and 4 footpath tractors are deployed to spread on average 5,500 tonnes of salt each year in Badenoch and Strathspey Area.

Details of the Badenoch and Strathspey Area priority routes and winter services information will be published on the council’s website at: http://www.highland.gov.uk/gritting.