Council clarifies Winter Maintenance Policy

19th January 2015

The Highland Council wishes to clarify that if anyone is seeking information on their Winter Maintenance Policy and gritting maps then this information can be found on the Highland Council website.

The Highland Council Winter Maintenance Policy states: "The treatment of roads will be carried out based on a hierarchical system dependant on route priority".

Primary roads, those which are of the highest priority, are described by the policy as "Strategic, Regional, Sub-regional and Link roads which serve the larger communities and permit the majority of road users to travel across the region."

Secondary roads include "Link and service roads within larger urban settlements. Roads connecting smaller communities to the primary network" and "Service and school bus routes not covered by the Primary network".

The third and lowest category “Other” covers the remaining parts of the network and includes “Minor rural and local access roads” and “residential roads in urban settlements.”

The Winter Resilience Community Aid Scheme which is complementary to the Council's winter maintenance activities, enables communities, with the Council's support, to clear snow and ice from pre-identified footpaths earlier than could be achieved by the Council alone. Full details of the Winter Resilience Community Aid Scheme is available online - http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/download/836/winter_resilience_community_aid

Chairman of the Council's Community Services committee, Councillor Graham MacKenzie, said: “Highland has the longest road network of any Council in Scotland and it is not possible to treat every road at the same time. This is why we use a priority system so the areas in greatest need are treated first.”

The Highland Council Winter Maintenance Page:
http://www.highland.gov.uk/info/20005/roads_and_pavements/107/winter_road_maintenance/2

Full Winter maintenance Policy Download:
http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/713/winter_maintenance_policy

Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online for:

Badenoch and Strathspey

Caithness and North Sutherland
http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/715/caithness_and_north_sutherland_gritting_maps

Inverness; Lochaber; Nairn; Skye and Lochalsh

South Sutherland and East Ross

Wester Ross and Black Isle.

The Highland Council is not responsible for the gritting of trunk roads. This responsibility lies with BEAR Scotland (North West) or Transport Scotland.