Last winter the UK was hit by a great deal of snow, in which parts of the country were left at a standstill. North Lincolnshire council has begun preparing for this winter and the possibility of heavy snow by spending around £130,000 on equipment which includes quad bikes.
On the shopping list there are snow blowers and increased supplies of grit along with a new system of what have been termed “snow wardens” to help residents in North Lincolnshire. The plans came about following an online survey consulting people in the area. It is hoped that the new winter plans will allow the council to respond more efficiently if the UK gets the same heavy snow as last year, which caused major disruption not only in Lincolnshire, but the rest of the UK.
The new ATVs will be equipped with canisters of chemicals to help with de-icing pavements, and the new system of snow wardens will be introduced on to the streets that will be able to patrol and relay any problem areas back to a central control room. A spokesman for the council said that last year was unprecedented with people having to deal with temperatures close to those of the arctic. Hopefully this winter will not be a repeat, but if it is, they will be prepared.
The new equipment is just a small part of the total Lincolnshire council will be spending out of total spend of £500,000. Last winter there was prolonged snow across many parts of the county and the UK from November onwards.