WITH winter just around the corner, Ealing Council’s gritting teams are gearing up to keep the roads open and traffic moving.

Ealing Council is one of the few local authorities in the country with a purpose-built storage barn for its grit. This means that sufficient grit can be stockpiled throughout the year to keep main roads and pathways clear.

As much as 5,000 tonnes can be stored at any one time – the equivalent of 714 double decker buses and more than 1,000 tonnes was spread on the borough’s streets last winter.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, leader for transport and environment, visited the depot in person last week to ensure that everything was in place for the coming cold months.

The decision on whether to deploy the council’s eight gritters is based on information from the Met Office and from considering prevailing weather conditions. Despite it still being officially autumn, the road-surface temperature has already dropped low enough to require the gritters to go out at night several times.

For more information on Ealing’s roads and highways, go to www.ealing.gov.uk.