Rochdale Council has announced plans to reduce gritting on the roads of Middleton and Heywood. The cuts will mean some residential roads will remain un-gritted during severe winter weather which could cause more accidents and also increase claims on vehicle insurance policies.

A shake-up of council gritting services will see a number of currently treated areas scrapped and the gritters will only spread salt on priority roads such as routes for schools. Routes deemed unimportant will be stopped as the council bid to save money. RMBC (Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council) have also proposed other winter policy options that include increasing the number of salt bins to include one at each place of worship throughout the borough and the treatment of all routes to churches on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The final decision will be made later this week but there are concerns by delivery firms who have vans protected by commercial vehicle insurance. No gritting, and black ice could result in more accidents and vans being off the road which will cost them money.

David Nicholson, director of Highways, said “The changes will save up to £13,000. Removal of routes from the standard treatment routes will generate savings. The exact savings will depend on the extent of the routes. There are no strict guidelines regarding the inclusion of routes on the standard treatment routes, therefore the identified routes can be removed to generate savings at the discretion of cabinet. No additional funding will be made available for further improvements to the winter service and therefore any additional costs will have to be managed within the existing winter service budget.”

RMBC has budgeted more than £1.1m to spend on gritting this year which is made up of a base budget, diverted highway maintenance and money which has been carried over from 2010. The financial implications will also vary depending on the severity of the winter season each year.