Gritting Pavements policies etc

Dear Dorian,

Thank you for your request for information, which was received by Essex
County Council on 15^th February 2010.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you
have requested and consider whether it is exempt from disclosure. Under
certain circumstances we may charge for providing information, but we will
let you know before we do any work that would incur a charge.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, under which we
must respond within 20 working days.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your request, please let me
know. If I am unable to resolve the issue immediately, I will explain our
complaints procedure.

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact him at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545700.

Regards

Sue McCracken

Business Services Officer

Environment, Sustainability & Highways

Essex County Council | telephone: 01245 437316 | extension: 51316| email:
[1][email address]

[2]EW7

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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Dear Ms Kelly

Thank you for your request for information, which was received by Essex
County Council on 15^th February. We have reviewed our records and are
unable to find the earlier communication that you refer to, so I am
pleased to enclose the following information, which I believe satisfies
your request.

The action being taken by the County Council in response to the snow and
icy conditions is summarised for your information.

Essex County Council is gritting its precautionary treatment network in
accordance with our Winter Service Operational Plan, with the aim of
keeping the strategic routes in the County free from snow and ice. Once
the strategic routes are clear and protected, routes of local importance
will receive treatment where this is possible within the resources
available. We recognise that this may make travel very difficult for you
but we have to take priority decisions to make the best use of the
available resources.

Above and beyond treating the precautionary network, the County Council
has undertaken work, alongside district councils to treat the most heavily
trafficked footways in key locations and refill the roadside salt bins.
For the material to be effective it needs to be worked in by the friction
/ movement of the public over it. There are no guarantees that once
treated the area will be free from ice. Availability of resources and
the need to prioritise high pedestrian usage areas first, severely limits
our ability to distribute salt in residential areas.

In relation to your specific request, I will try to answer them in the
order that you requested the information.

1) Do you have risk assessments relating to pedestrian safety in the
snow and ice on footpaths? Please supply a copy

No

2) Do you have specific exemptions under the Health and Safety laws
relating to your responsibilities to minimise injuries to users of
areas over which you exert authority, specifically public footpaths,
especially those for whom you have been advised of specific risks?

The governance in relation to the action Essex County Council undertakes
during the winter period to react to snow and ice conditions is stated by
the Highways Act rather than any health and safety legislation. Following
introduction of the amendment to Section 41 (1A) of the Highways Act 1980
Essex County Council as a Highway Authority now have a duty to ensure as
far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not
endangered by snow or ice'. There is also a duty upon authorities under
Section 150 of the Act to remove any obstruction of the highway resulting
from `accumulation of snow or from falling down of banks on the side of
the highway, or from any other cause'. The term reasonable and practical
within the Act accepts a prioritised approach. As a result, due to the
funding availability and the level of specialist plant and staff that have
to be maintained on standby for infrequent weather events it is not
practicable to provide the service to all parts of the network and
ensure/guarantee that all running surfaces are kept free from ice or snow
including those parts of the network that receive treatment.

NB - The highway network in this context includes both road and
pavements.

3) How many pavement gritting units does the Essex CC Highways
Department in Colchester possess or can quickly re purpose? (a
gritting unit in this instance is either a dedicated mechanical grit
appliance suitable for footpaths OR a wheelbarrow / shovel
combination which can be used for this purpose)

We have investigated a range of equipment which could be utilised by our
contractors to deliver our winter gritting. For pedestrian areas there
are a range machines however they need to be small in size to fit along
pavements. This limits their ability to carry sufficient salt and needs
logistical planning to refill the vehicle. We have found that the most
effective method is to use an open back van and men with shovels to throw
/ spread the salt.

4) How many casual labourers do you employ for hourly or other work
when gritting becomes necessary to operate said manual gritting
units, wheelbarrows etc? Have you approached the Army, Scouts,
Community service coordinators, NACRO etc, for assistance in this?
How many people do you currently employ whose contracts of employment
allow you to divert to general labour purposes and who are not
already employed on road gritting duties? Are they being so
redeployed?

The winter operation is 24hours a day seven days a week from the end of
October to the beginning of April. Essex County Council in conjunction
with its highways contractors employs in the region of 200 people across
the county. The staff work on a shift pattern to ensure coverage. The
staff levels include permanent staff who are skilled ie have licences to
drive HGV gritting vehicles, as well as other staff who are unable to
complete their `normal' duties due to the weather and are therefore
re-deployed to winter services, plus sub contractors who are brought in on
an ad hoc basis. To put some context, for our two depots which between
them serve the Colchester district, there are 30 gritting drivers active
at any given point over a 24 hour period.

It is not our normal practice to contact voluntary / community
organisation to ask for assistance. The extremes of weather are in
comparison short lived and unpredictable over a whole winter season. This
makes it difficult to organise local groups at short notice. We do
however have informal agreements between ourselves and the local district
council to support each other where resources make this possible. During
this winter period Colchester Borough Council make available to us staff
who were unable to conduct their normal tasks, one specific example is a
litter picking gang were redeployed to clear footway and spread salt. As
I have stated this is an informal arrangement and arranged locally on an
ad hoc basis as need arises and is only resourced if staff are available.
It is therefore not possible to quantify exact numbers.

5) Do you have a schedule of especially dangerous pedestrian points,
i.e hills and slopes, sharp turns, places where ice collects, places
where ice related accident happen frequently, etc? If not, why not?
Have you considered sending small vans which can deliver bags of grit
and apply them to such specific trouble spots once you become aware
of them? As an example, a large puddle of meltwater always collects
on the pedestrian crossing at Military Rd/ Magdelan Street junction
which refreezes to make this crossing unsafe. Another is the bus
station in Colchester which is

semi-lethal in the ice.

<<colchester pedestrain salting.pdf>>

Attached is a list of our identified pedestrian routes which we will
endeavour to keep free from ice and snow during a normal winter, these are
identified either because they offer a key link or are a known high risk
point. This season has seen unprecedented weather conditions as well as
experiencing a limit on the availability of salt. It has been necessary
to prioritise high pedestrian traffic areas first and attempt to keep
these clear before moving onto other areas. We would consider town
centres, high streets and traffic interchanges as priority areas.

It is worth noting that Essex County Council responsibility is only to
maintain the highway. Within Colchester there are several areas of the
town centre which are not highway and are the responsibility of Colchester
Borough Council although as already stated we do work closely to support
each other. The bus station is not highway land and we need permission to
enter this area.

We are only aware of incidents if they are reported to us directly by the
individual or indirectly via the police if it is a road traffic incident.
The local officer will be aware of such information and with their local
knowledge plus skilled engineering expertise will make a judgement within
policy whether to include the site in future local winter actions.

6) Are there any practical or legal restrictions or other
considerations other than logistical or financial against gritting
pavements?

Essex County Council follows the policy set out in its maintenance
strategy to determine how our winter service is delivered.

7) In the light of your website statement "In times of heavy snow the
county council endeavours to clear the roads and pavements as quickly
as possible in accordance with their policy." Where can I download or
inspect this policy?

[1]http://www.essexcc.gov.uk/vip8/ecc/ECCWe...
chapter 13 details our winter maintenance policy.

If you are not satisfied with my response to your request, please let me
know. If I am unable to resolve the issue immediately, I will explain our
complaints procedure.

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact him at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545700.

Kind regards

Catherine Gaywood

Principle Officer Asset Management - Highways Management

Environment Sustainability and Highways Management

Essex County Council | telephone: 01245 436335 | extension: 30335 | email:
[2][email address]

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Dear Dorian Kelly,

Thank you for your request for an internal review of your Freedom of
Information request, which was received by Essex County Council on 23rd
December 2010.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you
have requested and consider whether it is exempt from disclosure. Under
certain circumstances we may charge for providing information, but we
will let you know before we do any work that would incur a charge.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, under which
we must respond within 20 working days.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about
your request or your right to access information held by Essex County
Council.

Ruth Byford
on behalf of ISIS
Internal Audit & Risk Management
Essex County Council | telephone: 01245 435944 | extension: 55944 |
email: [email address]

EssexWorks
For a better quality of life

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Mr Kelly

Thank you for your request for information, which was received by Essex
County Council on 22 December 2010.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you
have requested and consider whether it is exempt from disclosure. Under
certain circumstances we may charge for providing information, but we will
let you know before we do any work that would incur a charge.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act under which we
must respond within 20 working days.

Please email me if you would like further advice or assistance about your
request or your right to access information held by Essex County Council.

Kind regards

Louise Tunstall

Business Services Support Officer

Essex County Council | Environment, Sustainability & Highways

Ext: 37187 | Email: [1][email address]

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Dear Mrs Kelly

Thank you for your request for information, which was received by Essex
County Council on 22^nd December 2010.

I am pleased to enclose the following information, which I believe
satisfies your request and provides an update to the issues you raised
following the response we provided you last year.

o Have you updated your winter service policy as a direct result of your
previous correspondence

No further action has been taken as a result of you correspondence. The
County Councils Operational Plans are regularly reviewed and updated to
comply with legislation and National Code of Practice. In addition this
season saw the publication of the Governments Independent Review of `The
Resilience of England's Transport Systems in Winter'. A copy of this
report is available on the link below. The recommendations of this report
have either been actioned or are currently being processed.

[1]http://transportwinterresilience.indepen...

o Have the priority routes in Colchester been treated

The Precautionary Salting Network which includes North Hill, Mersea Road
and Military Road have been treated on a regularly basis. To date, the
precautionary network in Colchester has been treated 54 times since the
beginning of November. Essex County Council aims to grit its
precautionary treatment network in accordance with our Winter Service
Operational Plan, with the aim of keeping the strategic routes in the
County free from snow and ice. The map of our precautionary network can
be viewed on our website. [2]www.essex.gov.uk/winter

Other routes are presently not receiving any treatment other than by
manual means to remove snow where this is possible within the resources
available. We recognise that this may make travel very difficult but we
have to take priority decisions to make the best use of the available
resources.

Above and beyond treating the precautionary network, the County Council
has undertaken work on key urban pedestrian routes, attended locations at
the request of the emergency services and worked alongside district
councils to clear key sites. Colchester Borough Council has been
invaluable in offering us assistance where they have the resources to help
us clear the town centre footways. In our last response you were provided
with a list of pedestrian areas which are classified as priority routes.
These have been reviewed by ourselves and Colchester Borough Council and
remain unchanged.

o Has a risk assessment of every site treated been completed

There is no requirement for risk assessments. The clearance of snow and
ice from the highway is a duty under the Highway Act 1980 but the duty is
not absolute and this has been recognised by the Courts. The Health and
Safety regulations only apply to workplaces and the highway is not deemed
to be a workplace.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about
your request or your right to access information held by Essex County
Council.

You may reuse all or part of this information free of charge in any format
or medium. You must reuse it accurately and not in a misleading context.
The material must be acknowledged as Essex County Council copyright and
you must give the title of the source document/publication.

If you are not satisfied with my response to your request, please let me
know. If I am unable to resolve the issue immediately, I will explain our
complaints procedure.

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact him at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545700.

Kind regards

Catherine Gaywood

Project Leader - Business Improvements

Environment Sustainability and Highways Management

Essex County Council | telephone: 01245 437524| extension: 51524 | Works
mobile: 07584580464 | email: [3][email address]

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