Does Carmarthenshire have enough salt this winter?

The council will have 16,500 tonnes of salt in stock at the start of the season – double the amount compared to two years ago - most of which is stored under cover in salt barns. Although that sounds like a lot, the council can use up to 1,000 tonnes a day with continuous gritting during severe ice and snow. It is recommended that local authorities hold enough salt to carry out six days of continuous gritting. For Carmarthenshire, this amounts to approximately 6,000 tonnes which means we will have almost triple the contingency arrangements. We can never say that we will have enough salt because we do not know what the winter will bring, however, we are very well prepared.

The council also has 1,050 tonnes of quarry gritstone in storage for use in extreme conditions and there are 1,100 grit bins across the county for use on local roads and pavements.

Carmarthenshire is part of the Wales salt cell which determines deliveries to local authorities on a needs basis during difficult times.

Is the council prepared for the cold weather?
Yes, we have a well developed Winter Maintenance Plan which identifies priorities and how they are dealt with. At the start of every winter we are fully stocked with supplies and we top them up when required. The plan is reviewed every year.

The council receives daily updates from the Met Office on weather and conditions as well as two to five day forecasts and up to 15 days range forecast.

What hours do the gritting teams work? Is it a 24-hour operation?
There is 24-hour availability, seven days a week. Gritting teams go out at times that are dependent on the weather including late night and during the early hours of the morning. We grit around 935 kilometres in one shift, that’s 27 per cent of the road network in Carmarthenshire.

Where does the council get its salt from?
We are supplied by Salt Union, a company based in Cheshire, which supplies a large number of local authorities in Wales and the UK as a whole. We work regionally in collaboration with other local authorities to maintain supplies as well as the Welsh Assembly Government.

Why doesn’t the council grit every street?
It would be impossible to grit every street in the county. Trunk and principal routes are given priority; this includes roads leading to hospitals, ambulance stations, fire stations, railway stations, bus garages, important bus routes, slip roads, and known trouble spots.

 In extreme conditions, secondary priority is given to shopping streets, known trouble and accident spots (not on the first priority routes) and other bus routes.

I'm sure residents understand that the most important thing when supplies are under pressure is to keep the main roads clear in the interests of emergency services, bus services, continuity of food and fuel supplies and to minimise the risk of accidents.

We also respond to emergencies and we will tackle side roads when prevailing weather conditions and salt supplies permit.