These statistics can be interesting to know, but they also put into perspective the huge extent of the work that council employees face during the winter months.

Did you know...?

Salt:

• Last year we used 19,461 tonnes of salt
• We expect our salt supplies to be around 21,400 tonnes as we enter the main winter season

National salt shortages of the relatively recent past have shown that all councils must be well prepared. Due to a combination of improved forecasting and the adoption of lower salt-spread rates, the council has reduced its salt stock levels while maintaining its ability to deliver an effective winter maintenance service.

Gritting:

• In all, 49% of the total road network will be gritted when snow or ice is forecast – including all A-class roads and important access roads, such as to hospitals, fire stations and isolated communities
• Typically, councils grit 45% of their networks, so we do more than the average
• You can now follow our gritters in real time using the gritting map on our website

Our resources:

• We have more than 150 winter road-workers
• To help them salt the roads, clear snow and keep roads and footpaths in as safe a condition as our resources permit, they have access to our fleet of
  • 29 gritters
  • 8 footpath tractors
  • 4 loaders
• We also rely on the assistance of many colleagues in Land Services, and mobilise farmers and contractors to assist when necessary

Councillor Robert Brown, Chair of South Lanarkshire Council’s Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, said: “Hopefully this Winter Awareness Week has been useful to everyone, as we want to remind people of the need to be prepared for the weather we can face over the coming months.

“I believe the information we’ve been sharing will be useful to all our residents and will serve as a timely reminder of what to expect and how to cope as the winter progresses.

“We are all aware how quickly the Scottish weather can take a turn for the worse and I hope our advice will help you to be as prepared as you can be.

“Rest assured, our dedicated council teams will be out doing as much as they can to help us be safer and more comfortable during any challenging weather conditions we face during the winter period.”

More information can be found online:

• The council’s Roads in Winter pages have our winter maintenance details as well as main gritting routes and grit bin locations
• Check out the council’s Facebook and Bluesky accounts for weather news and information on when the gritters will be on the roads, while X will also be used for alerts