No business like snow business COUNCIL GEARS UP FOR BAD WEATHER

WINTER is coming and Kirklees Council is gearing up in its bid to make those cold, dark, icy mornings and evenings more bearable for the tens of thousands of commuters around the borough.

The council has a 31-strong fleet of gritters and thousands of tonnes of salt ready to spread on the roads of Huddersfield and far beyond, into the upper reaches of the Colne and Holme valleys.

The hills above Dewsbury and Batley can also become treacherous when the sub zero temperatures strike.

Just over half of the road network, more than 700 miles, is treated in a two-hour period when a “full grit” is done.

The gritting crews focus on the main routes around the borough and key locations such as hospitals and schools.

The priority routes after that are bus routes and steep roads that provide important links to main roads.

One way to stay on top of the latest winter roads news is to follow the alerts from Kirklees Winter on Twitter (@KirkleesWinter).

After being shut down for the summer, the account is up and running again for the snowy season and is already issuing advice.

Kirklees saw its first snow fall in the higher elevations of the Holme Valley, and Examiner weatherman Paul Stevens has forecast that wintry conditions will continue next week.

Last winter was one of the toughest on record for the Kirklees gritting team as the region was struck by several waves of snow and ice, including the Beast From The East.

The bad winter saw the council use more than 2,000 tonnes of grit, causing it to spend £5m – an overspend of £3m.

Taxpayers will be hoping for a milder winter this time around as there is only £1.2m in the budget for winter weather management this year.