Welcome to our latest update for Snow Wardens. In this edition we're looking ahead to winter which is always a busy time of year for Devon Highways. |
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Whether they're dealing with snow, ice, storms or flooding, you can rest assured our teams will be doing everything possible to keep Devon moving. I applaud the dedication of our staff and volunteer Snow Wardens who play a vital role in supporting communities right across the county.
We can all play our part in keeping Devon's roads safe this winter simply by taking extra care, driving according to conditions and allowing a bit of extra time for your journey.
Cllr Stuart Hughes
Cabinet Member for Highway Management
We use the information you provide when you update Snow Warden details to administer the scheme and as a mailing list to share important information such as severe weather warnings.
Please use our online form to update your details.
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Are the grit bins in your area well stocked for winter? As many grit bins across the county are seldom or never used we use reports from snow wardens and members of the public to determine when to inspect and restock them. |
Please let us know if the grit bins in your parish are empty (or stocks are running low), damaged, or if the content is unusable via our report a problem site.
Last year we received over 1000 reports in relation to empty grit bins, many during the cold snaps in December and January, and therefore its important, where possible, to check your bins in the lead up to winter, to avoid any additional strain on the service and ensure your community is prepared.
You can also support our winter operations by encouraging the responsible use of grit.
Devon County Council can provide you with up to five tonnes of salt free of charge. The grit /salt is supplied in manageable sacks (in one delivery to one location per parish) prior to winter. |
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You may decide with your parish, in the best interests of your community, how you use your free salt on public roads and footpaths in your area. Please ensure that you keep a note of this in your Snow Plan and share your plan with your Neighbourhood Highway Officer.
You can request your additional grit / salt using our online form.
To ensure that grit / salt is stored in a safe manner and used effectively we will only supply additional grit / salt to trained Snow Wardens.
Our free Snow Warden training has been designed so that it can be done online at a time that's convenient for you.
For further information regarding this training please email communityselfhelp@devon.gov.uk
Devon County Council's winter service season starts today and will run through to at least mid April. Winter service is an important part of our maintenance work. This involves salting major roads when there is a risk of ice, clearing snow and reacting to floods and fallen trees. Our contractor, Milestone, has a workforce based at strategic locations to provide an effective response to any problems that may occur.
More information about how we manage winter roads, including when and where we carry out salting is available on our What we do page and can be seen on our primary salting network map.
As the winter season starts our Devon and Milestone teams are ready to face the challenges this winter may bring. We have replaced some of our older gritting vehicles in our fleet with much newer ones, to improve resilience and ensure we are providing the best possible service. In addition, we have been receiving deliveries of salt to our 13 barns across the County.
Our trial to treat some of the busiest footways and cycleways in Exeter will also continue this winter, as we continue to strive to do what we can to facilitate sustainable travel during the colder months.
This photographs shows one of our operatives treating the cycleway alongside the canal on the approach to Bridge Road.
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To improve our decision making and monitoring processes we have also installed a number of additional, mobile weather sensors (shown right) at strategic locations across the County, to further bolster our already extensive network of road weather information stations.
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The personal data you provide on our forms will be held by Devon County Council for the purpose(s) of administering the Snow Warden scheme. The data will be held securely and not kept for longer than necessary. Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) you have the right to ask that your details are removed if and when you or the town/parish council that you represent, are no longer part of the scheme. More information about how we process your data is available in our privacy notice.
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