Subject: Gritting & Highways Winter Service Plan

Date of meeting: 30 January 2025

Proposer: Councillor Hill

Seconder: Councillor Earthey

Ward(s) affected: All

Notice of Motion

Green Group & Brighton & Hove Independent Group

This council notes:

1) The impact of a changing climate on our city includes more extreme weather events.

2) Recent heavy snowfall this January which led to outlying parts of the city becoming disconnected from outside due to issues with putting grit on roads.

3) That the current gritting priority list does not take account of gradient which is only a factor in considering where to put grit bins.

4) The need to better connect outlying areas of the city during periods of heavy snowfall.

5) The importance of working with representatives of traffic police, bus companies, fire service and health bodies as well as the business and voluntary community sector to coordinate the response to heavy snowfall.

6) The lack of rephasing of traffic lights at key junctions when the snow meant that normal traffic light timings were not appropriate to use.

7) The problems caused for residents by ungritted pavements.

Therefore, resolves to:

1) Request the Administration to bring a report to Cabinet looking at additional sites for grit bins and grit drops and an update which will repeat annually to the Brighton & Hove Highways Winter Service Plan.

2) Ask officers to consider how best to seek resident feedback about how the council dealt with the heavy snowfall across Brighton and Hove this month through a consultation exercise.

3) Thank members of the community who came out to help others as well as to clear snow and ice, such as farmers who rescued cars in Woodingdean.

Supporting Information:

Current Winter Service Plan from 2019: highways-winter-service-plan-2019-2020.pdf

(https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/default/files/migrated/article/inline/highways-winter-service-plan-2019-2020.pdf)

Woodingdean farmers helped to rescue cars during snow | The Argus

(https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24845608.woodingdean-farmers-helped-rescue-cars-snow/)