Cost of winter weather: Almost £1m spent keeping Wrexham’s roads clear

Almost £1 million was spent keeping the roads clear across Wrexham during the winter period, it has been revealed.

The winter months were some of the coldest in years, with weather warnings aplenty and temperatures often dropping below zero and into minus figures.

This week Wrexham Council released details of how much it had spent between October 2017 and March of this year to keep the roads clear across the county borough.

The local authority says it stared the winter period with a budget of £587,000, which was fully spent. An additional £300,000 was also used from the specific environment reserve to help deal with the ongoing cold and frosty conditions.

In March the ‘Beast from the East’ arrived and brought more snowfall to the area – which particularly impacted higher parts of the county borough, such as Llandegla and Glyn Ceiriog.

As a result of the cold weather Wrexham Council say that a further £62,000 was spent from the authority’s general reserves on winter maintenance.

Around 10,000 tonnes of grit was also spread on roads across the county borough between October 2017 and March of this year.

Looking ahead to winter 2018/19 Wrexham Council say that its fleet of gritters will be fully maintained, with new drivers potentially trained and ready for action later this year. Gritting levels will also be kept at 10,000 tonnes.

Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: “It really was a very long, cold and frosty winter and like everyone else I am glad it is over.

“We have maintained a consistent winter maintenance budget even during times of austerity as it is essential that the roads are kept clear and more importantly safe to use.

“We never know what to expect during the winter but I am very pleased that the service we continue to offer remains of high quality and is relatively unaffected by the very challenging financial times we live in.”