Councillors in Chipping Norton were able to jump into action quickly when snow carpeted the region recently. They were ready as they had ATV snow clearing equipment at hand and were able to clear the streets of snow.
Both of the machines used had been fitted with snow ploughs and they were also able to spread snow.
The deputy mayor said that the ATV snow plough had made a huge difference on some of the roads in the region and if they had not leased the machines, the whole region could have come to a standstill. He went on to say that the roads in the region are unique as not one of them is level. Roads go up and down across the hills or they go straight down them.
In total, the ATV snow clearing equipment was used for around 40 hours in the snowfall and the machines helped in removing over 90% of the snow from the roads and pavements in the town. In total the town, which is the highest in Oxfordshire, received around five inches of snow.
Around 30 volunteers helped the councillors to move snow and ensure the roads which hadn’t been treated by gritters were coated with salt.
ATV snow clearing equipment, including the ATV snow plough, have been a blessing for local councils and following the problems that have been seen in the past two years, the council had purchased more salt spreaders, shovels and grit bins, which had been stored at key locations.