When frost, ice or snow is forecast, our gritting teams make sure that Trafford keeps on the move.

We are responsible for maintaining 700km of roads in Trafford. During periods of snow and ice priority is given to main roads and bus routes, which account for 414km of those roads.

• View a list of  highway gritting priorities within Trafford
• View our six priority gritting routes policy
• View our six priority gritting routes

The M60 and M56 are the responsibility of the Highways Agency.

From 24 October 2011 to 1 April 2012 highway engineers monitor our roadside weather station equipped with both atmospheric and road surface sensors.

The Met Office use the information gained in conjunction with its own forecast model to prepare daily and updated weather forecasts, enabling our engineers to predict when we need to grit to keep the roads safe.

The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout that period. Most of the gritting is carried out in the early hours.

There is no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your property, pathways to your property or public spaces.

If an accident did happen, it's highly unlikely that you would be sued as long as you:

• are careful
• use common sense to make sure that you don't make the pavement or pathway clearly more dangerous than before

People using areas affected by snow and ice also have responsibility to be careful themselves.

Tips and advice on clearing snow and ice

• start early - it's much easier to clear fresh, loose snow compared to compacted ice that has been compressed by people walking on it
• don't use hot water - this will melt the snow, but may replace it with black ice, increasing the risk of injury
• be a good neighbour - some people may be unable to clear snow and ice on paths from their property
• if shovelling snow, think where you are going to put it so that it doesn't block people's paths or drainage channels
• make a pathway down the middle of the area to be cleared first, so you have a clear surface to walk on
• spreading some salt on the area you have cleared will help stop ice forming - table salt or dishwasher salt will work, but avoid spreading on plants or grass as they may be damaged by it
• pay particular care and attention to steps and steep gradients
• use the sun to your advantage - removing the top layer of snow will allow the sun to melt any ice beneath; however you will need to cover any ice with salt to stop it refreezing overnight
• if there's no salt available, sand or ash are good alternatives

Once the six priority routes are safe, a secondary network can then be treated if resources are available.

When ice and frost is thought likely or forecast to be slow to clear, particularly in a morning, at least one gritter will be available to react to requests for other roads to be gritted - you can request gritting online or contact Access Trafford on 0161 912 2000.

During the prolonged spells of snow and ice the Council will similarly react to individual requests - again through Access Trafford if resources are available.

Equally, as a matter of course, Town centre footways will be gritted when required subject to the stock levels and supply of grit if resources are available. The remaining priority footways (shopping parades, those on slopes etc.) will then also be gritted if resources are available.

To place an order or make further enquiries, please contact 0161 912 5577 or send an email with your requirements to winter.gritting@trafford.gov.uk

Once an appointment has been made customers wishing to collect an order will need to go to the Carrington Depot located at, 148 Manchester Road, Carrington, M31 4QN.