BRENT Council is bracing itself for the return of winter weather, and will be using social networking tool Twitter to keep residents informed if conditions become severe.

The authority says it has developed detailed plans to keep the borough moving should freezing temperatures and snowfall hit north-west London again.

Recycling and waste staff are working with contractor Veolia Environmental Services to ensure that the major road network remains open. The council also claims to have contingency plans which aim to ensure that 95 per cent of bus routes, along with high roads, town centre streets and steep hills stay open even after a heavy snowfall or freezing weather in the winter.

Brent Council has organised for extra gritting vehicles to be out on the roads in previous winters, as well as drafting in extra staff. A council spokesman said: "The priority has been to ensure major shopping streets and town centres stay open. The contingency planning aims to ensure that essential services such as recycling and waste are functioning and that as many schools, libraries, and council buildings as possible are able to open.

"If recycling and waste collections are missed because the service has been suspended then Brent Council will attempt to clear disrupted collections as soon as weather conditions have improved and it is safe. When the weather has been particularly bad the Brent Emergency Control Centre has operated for 24 hours to coordinate the council’s response."

If the weather becomes severe, the authority has also promised to publish regular updates on Twitter.

Around 3,000 tonnes of grit, or rock salt, will be available to Brent this winter and around 300 yellow grit bins have been installed so that residents and businesses can grit icy or hazardous pavements themselves when required.

During the winter of 2010/11, the authorty used around 1,428 tonnes of road grit, and around 1,517 tonnes the winter before.

Councillor Jim Moher, Brent Council’s lead member for highways and transportation, said: “Once again we are preparing to assist residents and businesses in case of bad snow or ice, over the next few months.

"We are urging people to look out for and assist vulnerable neighbours by clearing snow or ice on the pavement outside homes and to put down salt at night to prevent it refreezing. In this way, we can work together to deal with whatever the weather brings us.”

Anyone wanting to find out more can visit www.brent.gov.uk/winter.

To see Twitter updates, go to twitter.com/brent_council