Norfolk ice gritters out for first time of the season as winter weather hits

Norfolk's gritting fleet was sent out for the first run of the season last night as icy weather hit the area.

Gritters were in action across the county at 3pm and then again at 3am this morning. The Norfolk County Council teams will continue to review the latest information and forecasts throughout the winter and deploy the fleet when needed.

For the first time ever, all 58 of Norfolk’s gritters have been fitted with brand new, state of the art auto-salting technology.

Aided by satellite navigation, it will allow teams to salt the roads with limited manual intervention, making the operation more accurate, saving time and reducing waste.

Cllr Graham Plant, the county council’s cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: “Norfolk's gritting crews taking to the roads for the first time this season, means that winter is upon us.

"If you’re using our roads always drive to the conditions, especially when it's icy, wet or snowy.

“We also encourage people to plan ahead and be prepared when travelling on foot or on two wheels and understanding that adverse weather can cause delays on public transport too.

“Over the coming months, our Norfolk Winter campaign will provide as much useful information and guidance as possible to keep residents up to date and safe, however you choose to travel this winter.

"I'd also like to thank and recognise the team that deliver Norfolk's highway services, working day and night throughout the winter to keep our roads open for people and businesses.

“We are ambitious for Norfolk and we are well prepared ths winter, with fully stocked salt domes and cutting edge technology installed on all our gritters.”

As temperatures drop and icy conditions become more common, the county council's annual travel information and safety campaign ‘#NorfolkWinter’ has launched on social media - with information and advice to keep people moving around safely.

The authority's highways team will be keeping a close eye on detailed specialist forecasts and weather sensors that help inform when and where gritting will be taking place throughout the winter.

Updates will be posted to the county council's social media channels to let people know when gritting will be taking place, as well as tips and advice for travelling. Look for the #NorfolkWinter hashtag on Facebook, Nextdoor and X (formerly Twitter).

People can check which roads are on the council's routes for this season on the map at www.norfolk.gov.uk/gritting.

On the same map people can find the locations of around 2,000 grit bins in the county which people can use on public pavements, cycle paths and roads.

Each full three-hour gritting run in Norfolk sees 2,200 miles of road treated. All A and B-class roads and some C-class roads are treated, with a focus on commuter and major bus routes and as far as possible one route into all villages.

The A47 is gritted by National Highways.