Gritting teams pull out all the stops after heavy snowfall in Leeds

Leeds City Council’s gritting teams have been working flat out to keep local roads safe following today’s heavy snowfall.

Gritting of primary routes – around 800 miles of road – took place at 4.30am and 8am this morning, with pre-emptive grits at 4pm and 7.30pm yesterday.

A total of 30 gritters were still doing the rounds this afternoon, supported by 11 tractor snowploughs with drivers from the council’s Parks and Countryside team.

Staff are out and about making sure grit bins are well stocked and also responding to reports of problems on footways, while mini-gritters and tractors are being used on some of the city’s secondary routes.

Across the board, the council currently has around 100 staff dealing directly with snow-related issues. 

Despite the huge efforts made last night and today by the council’s gritting teams, the continuing snow and sub-zero road surface temperatures mean some disruption to journeys has sadly been unavoidable.

Additional gritting efforts have been focused on the areas around the city’s primary care network COVID-19 vaccination centres.

Around 100 schools have closed as a result of the weather. For a full list, visit the schools section of the council website. West Yorkshire Combined Authority has cancelled all mainstream school bus services for tomorrow. School transport for children with special education needs and disabilities has also been cancelled.

The hazardous conditions have also seen West Yorkshire Police advising people to avoid going out by car wherever possible.

Refuse collections have been put on hold for the rest of the day, with snow expected to continue falling in Leeds until around 4pm.

Residents who haven’t had their bins emptied today are advised to put them out again for a planned Sunday collection, when crews will try to collect as many missed bins as possible.

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) also closed early today following police travel advice. Residents who had a slot reserved for today are advised to please rebook.

The weather is expected to be very cold again overnight, with road surface temperatures of minus 5 degrees set to cause further problems with ice. A gritting shift is planned for 3:30am tomorrow to treat the primary road network.

For the latest updates on how services are being affected by the snow, head to the council’s channels on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.

ENDS