Issue - meetings

The delivery of Winter Service is delivered in two distinct operations:

1.       Pre-treatment of Routes and Advance Planning – this ensures that pre-defined route networks including carriageways, cycleways and areas of footway, are pre-treated according to their importance and the weather conditions, to inhibit the formation of ice and facilitate the removal of snow.

2.       Management of Severe Snow Event – this ensures the service is prepared to manage a severe snow event, to reduce disruption and improve safety.

In 2010 a joint officer and member Winter Task Group was formed to review the overall delivery of the winter service. The successes of the Task Group and the principles that it has developed inform annual winter reviews to deliver continuous improvement to the service.

This report provides an overview of the performance of winter service last year and recommendations to further improve service and ongoing scrutiny.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

1.         That the Highways Cold Weather Plan 2014/15, attached as Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved for the forthcoming winter season.

2.         That Cabinet respond to the Environment and Transport Select Committee Winter Performance Task Group recommendations, as detailed in the submitted report.

Reasons for Decisions:

To agree the Highways Cold Weather Plan for the coming winter season.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding Recovery introduced the Highways Cold Weather Plan for 2014/15 and said that this plan set out the delivery of the Highways Winter Service which would be delivered in two distinct operations:

·         Pre-treatment of routes and advance planning

·         Management of a severe snow event

He referred to the priority salting network and confirmed that stocks of salt should continue to be maintained at the maximum capacity of 16,000 tonnes. He also advised Cabinet that there would be greater emphasis on partnership working with Boroughs and Districts and acknowledged the valuable contribution of the 51 farmers that the County Council could call on to provide additional assistance in times of severe weather.

Finally, he thanked the Environment and Transport Select Committee’s winter performance task group for their excellent report and recommendations which he believed had been addressed in the report.

The Leader of the Council requested that a copy of the Highways Cold Weather Plan 2014/2015 (Annex 1) be sent to all Members, Borough, District and Parish Councils, and at the request of the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, that a paper copy of the Plan is places in all Community Libraries.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the Highways Cold Weather Plan 2014/15, attached as Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved for the forthcoming winter season.

2.         That Cabinet respond to the Environment and Transport Select Committee Winter Performance Task Group recommendations, as detailed in the submitted report.

Reasons for Decisions:

To agree the Highways Cold Weather Plan for the coming winter season.