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Dudley Council to spend £1.5m on nine new gritters as grit bins are removed - here's why

Grit bins are being removed by Dudley Council as nine new gritters have been signed off - here's why

By Martyn Smith
Published

Dudley Council is to spend £1.5m replacing its ageing fleet of gritting lorries with nine new vehicles.

The authority’s cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, Cllr Simon Phipps, has given the green light for the council’s fleet maintenance manager to purchase the new trucks.

The council has a legal duty to keep highways in Dudley in a safe condition in cold weather when snow and ice could make travel tricky.

The decision notice signed by Cllr Phipps and Nick McGurk, group director for communities and growth, said: “The current winter maintenance fleet is now 14 years old and is in need of replacement, age related repairs resulting in rising maintenance costs and unreliability is affecting operational resilience.

“These existing vehicles are also less efficient at spreading salt than more modern counterparts.

“A new procurement will modernise the fleet, improve service delivery, reduce breakdown risk and ensure continued safety and mobility for road users.”

An Icy pavement outside Dudley Council House during November's cold snap. Picture Martyn Smith/LDRS free for LDRS use
An Icy pavement outside Dudley Council House during November's cold snap. Picture Martyn Smith/LDRS free for LDRS use

The new fleet will comprise seven 26,000kg vehicles and two 18,000kg vehicles.

A total of £1,545,000 will be allocated from the council’s capital expenditure budget to pay for the trucks.

The report notes added: “Latest Euro 6 emission vehicles contribute to reduced CO2 emissions by adopting better driving behaviours that are more fuel efficient and less polluting.

“This will support the council’s commitment to become carbon net zero by 2030 along with its ambition to see the borough become net zero by 2041.

“Modern reliable vehicles with automated spreaders, route optimisation and GPS tracking systems make operations more efficient and consistent.

“They reduce over or under gritting, saving on grit salt and fuel.”

The authority is currently removing grit bins close to gritting routes in a bid to cut spending on filling under-used bins.

After an inspection in May 2025 only empty bins were earmarked to be refilled ahead of the winter and the council will not refill bins mid-season or consider new requests for bins.