Lancashire businesses encouraged to prepare for winter

Winter is on its way and  Lancashire County Council is busy preparing to keep the county’s roads as clear and safe as possible, to minimise delays and accidents caused by bad weather conditions. The council is also encouraging Lancashire businesses to get ready for the challenges that severe weather conditions can bring.

What you can do
You may not be able to control the weather but you can at least prepare for it. In harsh winter weather, it’s likely that you’ll need to keep your car park and entrance areas free from snow and ice.

In response to confusion over what steps you can take when clearing snow and ice, the government has issued advice, which explains that there is no law stopping you from clearing public spaces outside your business. For guidance on spreading salt as well as clearing snow and ice visit our website.
We provide over 1,800 grit bins and salt heaps around the county to help keep public areas clear. The salt is there to make the roads and pavements safer for everyone and is not for private use.

If you have a large private area to keep clear, it is your responsibility to buy your own grit (available from a range of hardware stores) or contract a company to carry out the work for you. If you use a contractor make sure their insurance status leaves you fully covered.
In special circumstances, Lancashire County Council can allow for work to be carried out on public road network (at your own cost), provided the correct permissions are in place. To discuss any individual requirements for your business or email [email protected].
Winter weather can be unpredictable so keep your eye on weather conditions. For more information on making sure that its business as usual – whatever the weather – visit our website.

How Lancashire County Council can help
Ideally we would aim to treat every road in Lancashire. But in reality this isn’t possible due to cost and resources. Instead we identify priority roads and pavements to receive preferential treatment for salting and snow clearing to help keep our county moving. We are responsible for over 4,300 miles of roads of which approximately 1,500 miles are part of Lancashire’s ‘Priority Road Network’ for salting and snow clearing.

• Our Priority Route Networks are A roads which are the key routes across the county and B roads which are routes in and out of towns and single routes into villages.

• Our Secondary Route Networks are our next most important roads. In lasting periods of cold weather and in severe weather conditions, these roads will also be treated.

Follow us online for all the latest gritting updates, winter weather advice and more
• www.lancashire.gov.uk/winter

Share your winter messages using the #LancsWinter hashtag
• www.twitter.com/lancashirecc
• www.facebook.com/lancashirecc
• www.flickr.com/lancashirecc