Salt stockpiled for winter challenges

Oct 4 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTHSHIRE and Kinross-shire are among the best-placed parts of Scotland to tackle this year’s predicted bad winter, says Transport Minister Keith Brown.

During a visit yesterday to the Tayside Contracts yard at Inveralmond, Perth, the minister viewed efforts to meet head on the challenge of keeping the Big County moving.

And he said preparations are already well under way to help keep disruption to a minimum despite Met Office forecasters predicting average monthly temperatures will be colder – and that this could be the third in a series of five harsh winters.

Across the country Transport Scotland and partners such as Scotland Transerv have been stockpiling salt and grit to around 70 per cent of the entire quantity used last year.

But, in Perth he reported Tayside Contracts had stockpiled up to 85 per cent of the vast amount dumped in the last icy blast.

Mr Brown told the PA: “That’s significant because it means that when the time comes it will only need 15 per cent to “top up” to the levels used last time.”

He also said local authorities were on target for being better prepared and the central salt ‘cell’ – a back-up Scottish supply – was also available.

“We’re better prepared, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be disruption,” he declared.

“But our operating companies are better prepared to get Scotland moving again due to our focus on improvement since last winter.”

He added that advance stockpiling over the summer came with the benefit of a cheaper rate for buying the salt, which should help avoid a repeat of the images of two years ago of low supplies and roads agencies waiting for deliveries.

He pointed out that improved equipment, from ploughs and gritters, right down to roadside equipment providing frequent updates, would help tackle the challenge.

Frequent updates through Traffic Scotland, which is using social media and mobile phone applications to reach road users, were also highlighted.

The minister, who came into the job in December last year after criticism of the Scottish Government’s handling of the response then by Stewart Stevenson, also brushed off the often-quoted comparison that other countries handle their winters better.

He said: “I have seen winters in Canada and Norway, and they cannot be compared to Scotland in terms of the variety and challenges of weathers we can get.

“Often after their third or fourth snowfalls the roads are open, but people are driving on compacted snow and that’s just not possible in Scotland.

“Variations of plus or minus one degree can mean we get rain, snow melt, ice or snow and that changes the conditions, unlike elsewhere where conditions are less changeable.

“Scotland is fairly unique in that respect.”

But he did say Scotland had learned from its snowier neighbours in terms of holding a “winter preparedness” operations.

He also said Transport Scotland had just received a three-month predicted weather outlook from the Met Office, which says this winter’s monthly temperatures will be even colder than last year.

“We’re looking at that cautiously,” he said.

The Scottish Government is to launch its ‘Get Ready for Winter Week’ later this month.