Agenda item

1.         That the Highways Cold Weather Plan for the forthcoming 2015/16 season, attached as Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved.

2.         That the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board Winter Performance Task Group recommendations, as detailed within paragraph 3 of the submitted report, be noted.

Reasons for Decisions:

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

[The decision on this item may be called in by the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board]

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding began the introduction of this report by thanking the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Scrutiny Board’s winter performance task group for their excellent and helpful work.

He said that the Winter Service was delivered in two distinct operations:

1.       Pre-treatment of Routes and Advance Planning – this ensured that pre-defined route networks including carriageways, cycleways and areas of footway, were 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 ensured the service was prepared to manage a severe snow event, to reduce disruption and improve safety.

He referred to the Surrey Priority Network (SPN) and the changes which would allow for more informed network discussions in the future and also that the footway priority snow clearing schedules had been updated and aligned with the new SPN maintenance hierarchy.

He said that the County Council was indebted to the 52 farmers who were under agreement to Surrey Highways Service to carry out snow clearance on certain minor roads and considered this was extremely helpful and had received strong resident support.

He also said that partnership working was key to the successful operation of the Winter Service Plan and that the County Council worked closely with Boroughs and Districts. He also referred to the Residents Communication Plan and the on-going publicity campaigns and said that the needs of all highway users, including those that were vulnerable were considered when making decisions on service provision, as detailed within paragraphs 34 – 36 of the report.

Cabinet considered that this was a good report and discussed different ways of communicating winter service information, including twitter, which was considered very effective in providing real-time information.

They also requested that the Plan was widely distributed to Borough, District and Parish Councils so that communities were aware of the arrangements made for dealing with a ‘big snow event’ and also the importance of identifying vulnerable people in their local communities.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning considered that grit bins should be re-filled, if resources allowed, during the winter.

The Cabinet Member for Business Services and Resident Experience requested a copy of a map showing the location of the grit bins in her division, which the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding agreed to provide for her and other Members on request.

Finally, the Leader of the Council drew Cabinet’s attention to paragraph 37 of the report – Legal Implications, and requested that they ensured that they were aware of the legal duty of a local authority.

He also requested that a press release was prepared which explained the difference between different salting methods (dry and wet salt) and the benefits of using the ‘pre-wet’ salt used on Surrey roads.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the Highways Cold Weather Plan for the forthcoming 2015/16 season, attached as Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved.

2.         That the Economic Prosperity, Environment and Highways Board Winter Performance Task Group recommendations, as detailed within paragraph 3 of the submitted report, be noted.

Reasons for Decisions:

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