Wolverhampton council in vow to maintain gritting levels despite cutbacks

Figures released following a Freedom of Information request show the council's winter preparation budget for 2016-17 stands at £267,200.

In 2011-12 the same budget was £507,700, meaning it has shrunk by more than 47 percent in five years.

But the council insist it has cut its own budget because it was continually underspending and that it is prepared for the forthcoming winter.

A spokesman said: "We have 4,000 tons of grit in stock, which is plentiful when you consider we only needed 1,600 last year.

"For the next seven months,.our gritting fleet are on standby 24-7 to go out whenever temperatures drop below freezing.

"People appreciate that setting a budget for gritting is more of an art than a science, because we're in the hands of the weather.

If we have a mild winter, its costs less and, if we have a severe winter, it costs more.

"We found in previous years we had overestimated the budget and then underspent it, so the accountants have made a technical adjustment to the budget to better reflect what the service actually costs and help us plan resources more effectively.

"It is important people understand the service has not changed – if the gritters are needed they will always be out there.

"Keeping people safe is the first priority and in the unlikely event salt stocks run low, we will use contingency budgets to order in more."

In January, this year the council came under fire following a spate of crashes in icy conditions caused major disruption on the city's roads.