Road and Street Gritting

These pages provide information about services to treat roads and pavements during frost, snow and ice conditions to keep them as safe to use as possible.

You can also view our new searchable winter gritting map to see where the priority roads, pavements, frost patrols and grit bins are located in your area. 

This page is divided into the following sections:

• Servicing of grit bins
• Where we grit
• When we grit
• Frost patrols
• Pre treatment
• Post treatment
• Contact information and gritting requests
• Provision of grit bins
• Clearing snow and ice yourself
• Maps

Detailed information on these services can be found in the Winter Service Plan.

Servicing of grit bins

As part of the Winter Service arrangements salt bins are removed from public highways for the summer and autumn seasons. While they are off the street they are cleaned up, repaired and serviced ready for return to their dedicated locations for next winter.

The winter service period commences on 1 November and all the grit bins will be returned to the street before this date.

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Where we grit

The council's gritting activities are organised into two teams, one of which works on the carriageways (the section of the road used by vehicles), and the other on the pavements (for pedestrians).

Both teams work to a priority list, focussing on the highest priority areas to ensure that these are open and operational before moving on to lower priority areas. Further information on the classifications of the priority areas, including lists and maps of all roads in the borough grouped by priority area, can be found on the carriageway gritting and pavement gritting pages.

• You can also view our new winter gritting map to see where grit bins are located.

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When we grit

The council and Veolia receive Haringey-specific daily winter weather forecasting information. The forecast gives predictions of the possibility of frost, freezing road temperatures and snow and the time those conditions may occur. This enables decisions to be made about whether to carry out gritting operations.

There are three types of gritting operation, which are carried out at different times according to the forecast and actual weather conditions:

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Frost patrols

Frost patrols are carried out when there is a forecast of near or sub-zero overnight temperatures, which may result in the formation of frost or ice.

Frost patrols are the most common form of gritting operation, and normally happen on 20 to 30 nights each winter. Frost patrols are carried out on carriageways and pavements based on the following criteria:

• Carriageways with the steepest gradients, where formation of frost or ice creates a particularly high level of risk for vehicular traffic
• Carriageways with steep gradients that may ice over for longer periods owing to a higher elevation or greater exposure
• Heavily used pedestrian areas with the steepest gradients, bridges, and steps in exposed locations that are likely to ice over for longer

Lists and maps of the areas covered by frost patrols can be found in the attached files section below.

• You can also view our new winter gritting map to see where the frost patrols take place in Haringey.

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Pre-treatment

This is gritting that is carried out upon the forecast of snowfall before the snow begins to fall. This is designed to guard against the possibility of the snow settling. We aim to complete pre-treatment of Priority 1 carriageways and pavements by the time that snowfall is forecast to begin.

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Post-treatment

This is gritting that is carried out during or following a snowfall. This is designed to limit the amount of snow that settles, and reduce the likelihood of ice forming as the snow is compacted by traffic. During any given weather event Priority 1 carriageways and pavements will be treated and re-treated if necessary. When all Priority 1 carriageways and pavements are considered to have been satisfactorily treated we will then consider gritting of Priority 2 pavements and carriageways subject to there being sufficient stocks of salt to do so. Gritting of Priority 3 carriageways and non-priority pavements will generally be very limited during any weather event as maintaining higher priority carriageways and pavements to a safe standard will take precedence.

There is further information on pre-treatment and post-treatment on the carriageway gritting and pavement gritting pages.

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Contact information and gritting requests

For urgent or emergency gritting requests during normal office hours (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm), contact the Veolia Haringey Contact Centre:

• Tel: 020 8885 7700
• Email: enquiries.haringey@veolia.com

For urgent or emergency gritting requests outside normal office hours, call the council’s Emergency switchboard on 020 8489 0000.

We will respond as quickly as possible to requests for emergency gritting to support responses by the emergency services and where there are vulnerable people at risk. Requests that do not fall into this category will be attended to if it is appropriate to do so within the council’s approved priority response protocols as outlined in the current Winter Service Plan.

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Provision of grit bins

There are 165 grit bins throughout the borough, normally at more remote locations that are not included in Priority 1 and 2 schedules but where there are enhanced risks, such as at hilly or exposed locations, and also potentially dangerous road junctions. A list and map is provided in the attached files section below, and you can also view our new winter gritting map to see where grit bins are located in your area.

Grit bins are replaced on the street during the autumn and will be topped up throughout the winter maintenance period subject to there being sufficient salt stocks to do so. If you need to report a missing or empty grit bin then please contact the Veolia Haringey Contact Centre:

• Tel: 020 8885 7700
• Email: enquiries.haringey@veolia.com

Suggestions for new sites for grit bins are welcomed. If you wish to suggest a location please contact us with the details. Requests for the provision of new grit bins are assessed against a set of criteria, and they will be provided if full justification can be shown.

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Clearing snow and ice yourself

During periods of heavy or prolonged snowfall, gritting by the council may only be possible on Priority 1 locations. In these circumstances, some residents may wish to clear snow and ice from their own pathways and from pavements outside their properties or those of their neighbours who may be unable to do this themselves.

The Government has published a short guide to help people understand how they can clear snow and ice safely, which can be found on the snow code page.

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Maps

You can view our new searchable winter gritting map to see where the priority roads, pavements, frost patrols and grit bins are located in your area.

Maps are also available to download in the attached files section below. Please note that these are large high-resolution files.

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Attached Files

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