Staffordshire County Council is proposing a new Winter Service Policy that would allow town and parish councils to pay for additional grit bins in their areas, with the county council providing and maintaining them.
The updated policy, which replaces guidance introduced 11 years ago, is due to go before the council's Cabinet on Wednesday 16 September.
How the new policy works
Under the proposals, local councils would be able to fund extra bins where they identify a local need. The county council would act as the service provider, supplying and filling the bins without requiring the local council to purchase equipment or arrange third-party maintenance.
All roads currently treated under the 2015/16 policy will continue to be gritted during the 2026/27 winter season. The county council already maintains nearly 3,000 grit bins identified as strategic or community-led.
Councillor Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for strategic highways, told the Economy, Infrastructure and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the change addresses requests for additional bins in areas that do not meet the council's assessment criteria.
"It wasn't about taking anything away or making people pay twice for filling the grit bins we already fill, it's purely additional," Councillor Mason said.
Committee scrutiny
Committee member Councillor Simon Tagg raised concerns about lessons learned from winter gritting problems, particularly following documented community disapproval of the county council's gritting work on North Staffordshire's roads in January.
The Cabinet is scheduled to consider the Winter Service Policy on 16 September.
