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3 May 2022 – Item 10.5 – Report – CEC winter road gritting arrangements consultation

May 2022 Uploaded on April 27, 2022

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REPORT TO PICKMERE PARISH COUNCIL
3rd May 2022
AGENDA ITEM 10.5 WINTER ROAD GRITTING ARRANGEMENTS – POSSIBILITY OF PARISH
COUNCILS FUNDING ADDITIONAL GRITTING – CEC CONSULTATION
1. REPORT
1.1 CEC has written to parish councils as follows:
During the winter of 2021/22, Cheshire East Borough Council implemented new
winter gritting routes. These routes were developed following the introduction of the
new highway maintenance guidance document Well Managed Highway
Infrastructure (WMHI) and as such the routes were developed following the guidance
in WMHI. The new routes involved new roads being added to the treatment network
and also roads which no longer achieved a minimum risk based score being removed.
On the 2nd March 2022 the Council’s Highways and Transport Committee considered
a paper which outlined the end of season review that is being undertaken to
understand the success of the new routes and any amendments that may be required.
As part of this paper there was a proposal to engage with the Town and Parish
Councils in the Borough to understand if they would like to fund additional ‘top up’
gritting in their areas.
The attached survey proforma and supporting information pack is the start of this
engagement and outlines the conditions that would be associated with the purchase
of additional top up gritting, together with a calculation of the approximate costs of
this service based on data inputted. I would like to bring to your attention the
following key points;
 Timing of implementation of any gritting routes will be subject to the levels
of interest expressed in the ‘top up’ service.
 The estimated cost calculator is based on an assumed level of take up. Final
standing costs and costs per treatment will be indicated once the initial level
of interest has been ascertained. Therefore these should be considered as a
guide for costs in year 1 of the service.
 The final costs will be subject to annual inflationary increases over the
minimum service period.
 A legal agreement will be required which will set out within it a minimum
Duration of Service.
Please can you complete the attached form and return it to the email address
iandh@cheshireeast.gov.uk by no later than 5pm on Friday 27th May. If no response
is received then it will be assumed that the Council in question does not wish to take
part in any potential winter gritting ‘top up’ scheme. The results of the survey
together with any recommendations will be included as part of a forthcoming report
to the Council’s Highways and Transport Committee.
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1.2 It is understood that proposed costs are based on 65 gritting runs per annum (average of
last 3 years), and that costs will be, at least initially, £725 per km (fixed costs) plus £8.47
per km per gritting run (operational costs). Parish councils, if they wish to be considered,
have to designate which roads and what lengths of such roads they might wish to fund.
1.3 It is further understood that Pickmere Lane is the only road in the parish that is the subject
of CEC’s gritting operations.
1.4 The supplied calculator suggests that a request to grit 1km of road would cost around
£1275 per annum.
2. RECOMMENDATION
2.1 That members note the report and consider whether to pursue further the possibility of
funding additional gritting in any particular location.
Jack Steel
Clerk to the Parish Council