We support the Government's campaign to help people 'Get Ready for Winter'. Visit www.direct.gov.uk for plenty of suggestions on the simple things you can do to help you and your family keep warm, healthy and safe through the cold weather- as well as saving money.

For winter bin and recycling collections, we will post updates on our Waste and Recycling page. Click here to open it.

For live update follow us on Twitter 

Salting and gritting the roads
Essex County Council have approximately 65 gritting vehicles and 120 personnel on call over a 24 hour period. On average 170 tonnes of salt are used on each run.
Their decision when to grit is based on predicted weather forecast information and current road and air temperatures.
They aim to take action during the early mornings and late evenings, where possible, to minimise the disruption to traffic.

Responsibilities
The salting network consists of A roads, B roads, key rural link roads and roads served by frequent bus services.  We also include roads which allow emergency services access to the main network.
 
Resource limitations mean Essex County Council does not treat minor roads such as:
- those in residential areas;
- pavements beyond town centres;
- car parks
Nor do they do other areas that are not part of the publicly owned highway.  In these cases, the responsibility will be with private organisations or us.

Footways and cycle tracks are not included in the precautionary salting network.
However, when covered by heavy snow, high use footways will be identified for clearance and treatment if resources permit.  

You can check which roads will be gritted and find advice on safe winter travel by visiting  www.essex.gov.uk/winter .

Get Flood aware this winter
Call 0845 988 1188 or visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Visit www.essex.gov.uk/winter for winter information on:
- school closures
- gritting the roads (see above)
- clearing snow
- salt stocks
- buses and school transport
- winter driving