Statement on gritting in and around Leeds last night and this morning

Commuters travelling in and around Leeds this morning experienced significant delays due to the adverse weather.

Because of the forecast snow, the council’s gritting teams were out at 10pm on Wednesday and were also out on the roads from 4am this morning on all primary routes.

They have also since have been out continuously from 6am.

A spokesman for Leeds City Council said: “Our gritting teams have been working hard to keep the main roads moving this morning but, unfortunately, the sheer volume of snow in such a short space of time makes any gritting less effective than it would normally be- with the heavy snow covering up much of the grit before it has a chance to get to work.

“Grit also needs vehicles to drive over it to work properly, meaning it takes a time for it to make a big difference to driving conditions.

“We are aware that people have experienced major issues travelling around Leeds this morning but we’d like to assure everyone that we were fully prepared in line with the weather warning and have done the absolute best we can to keep the city going.

“The current forecast is for improved weather later today, and the weather warning for Leeds expires at 11am today so hopefully it will be clearer this afternoon and the evening commute will be much easier.

“In the meantime we’d urge everyone to take care on the roads and keep checking @LeedsCC_News for the latest updates.”

The latest information on gritting can be found at: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/parking-roads-and-travel/ice-and-snow-clearing

Information on school closures is updated by individual schools and can be found at: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/children-families-and-carers/schools-and-learning/school-closures

The weather has also disrupted refuse and recycling collection services today. Teams working hard to recover any missed collections and prioritising black bins.

Residents are advised to leave bins out for collection and check the website and social media regularly for further updates.

ENDS