Kirklees Together

This winter we will be working as hard as ever to keep the roads gritted. Find out how we’re getting ready for winter and what you can do to be prepared.

Even though many of us are now working from home, it’s business as usual for the council’s 75 gritter drivers and support staff. They have 25,000 tonnes of grit at the ready, enough to salt 40 billion bags of crisps! When necessary, the team will be out from 4am, keeping main roads clear for those that need them.

This year, we have carried out refresher training for current drivers and trained our new drivers. We’ve also serviced our own gritters as well as hiring new gritters in to maintain levels of salt on the gritting route.   

Get involved

If you’re interested in forming or joining one of the 34 community volunteer groups, contact your local ward Councillor. However, if joining a group is not for you, you can help informally on your street or area. There are 1450 grit bins across Kirklees for residents to use on public roads and paths (but not on private property please).

Myth-buster – you will not get into trouble if you clear a path, and someone slips.

This year, we’re grateful for the part our Winter Volunteers play in the local community. We’re lucky to have around 170 volunteers who brave the cold to help to keep paths and smaller local roads clear. We also have around 20 farmers, who volunteer via the National Farmers Union. They grit lots of rural roads to connect our primary gritting routes.

Snow Wardens

The Snow Wardens scheme is a volunteer initiative, across Kirklees, where our Highways department will supply volunteers across our district with equipment, PPE, and grit to help support their local community.

Snow Wardens will receive a shovel, scoop, high vis, show grips, and grit. These can be picked up at an allotted time from one of our depots. If you are interested in more information or interested in being a snow warden, please email snow.wardens@kirklees.gov.uk

Please note this scheme is capped, so early application is advised.

Get ready for winter

There are lots of small steps you can take to make sure your home and car are winter ready. You can find lots of tips on the council’s website.

The winter service policy and gritting routes are available on the Council’s website.

You can keep up to date by following our ‘Gritter Twitter’. Established in 2009, this account keeps you updated on all things winter and severe weather and is updated 24 hours during a severe weather event. You can find us @KirkleesWinter