County council ready for possibility of snow in West Sussex

The county council is preparing for the possibility of snow in West Sussex this week as severe weather warnings have been issued for the region.
Horsham Park pictured in January 2013 -photo by Steve Cobb ENGSUS00120130121101825Horsham Park pictured in January 2013 -photo by Steve Cobb ENGSUS00120130121101825
Horsham Park pictured in January 2013 -photo by Steve Cobb ENGSUS00120130121101825

The Met Office has issued a yellow severe weather warning for snow and ice in parts of the South East including Hampshire for tomorrow evening (Tuesday January 13) and is forecasting a covering of snow of 3-6cm in places by Wednesday morning.

While West Sussex is not currently included in the weather warning, the county council is readying its fleet of gritters to deal with snow or ice if temperatures plunge.

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Contractor Balfour Beatty has stockpiled 10,500 tonnes of salt at West Sussex County Council depots in Drayton, Clapham and Jobs Lane, near Hickstead in preparation for bad weather.

Pieter Montyn, WSCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We are fully prepared for any cold weather and ready to go.

“Our priority is to keep major routes treated and passable during severe weather.

“We constantly monitor the weather conditions and as soon as we see road surface temperatures getting towards zero, we make arrangements.”

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The authority does not salt the A27, A23 or M23, which are the responsibilities of the Highways Agency.

It salts all other ‘A’ roads, ‘B’ roads and key routes for emergency vehicles, approaches to major hospitals, large schools, colleges and busy bus routes.

Key rural routes are treated by local farmers through agreements in place with parish councils.

About three fifths of the West Sussex road network is treated during icy conditions.

Whenever it snows, two-fifths of the roads on the network are prioritised first.

For more information about gritting routes, visit West Sussex County Council’s website and search under ‘Winter Roads’.