Gritting
Our aim is to make the roads in Derbyshire as safe as possible for our road users and to minimise any delays caused by bad weather.
During the winter period we provide 24 hour cover to respond to weather conditions using a fleet of specialist salting and other vehicles.
Gritting involves spreading rock salt on the roads to prevent ice forming and, during heavy snowfalls, snow ploughs may be used to clear snow.
Watch our Gritter Cam video to find out what's like to be out on the roads gritting in bad weather.
We grit and clear snow and ice from around half the adopted roads and pavements in Derbyshire except for motorways and trunk roads, which are dealt with by the Highways Agency (opens in a new window) and the roads in Derby city (opens in a new window), which are the city council's responsibility.
Gritting requests
In heavy snow and freezing conditions, our main focus is on keeping primary and secondary routes open. We cannot guarantee we'll grit roads which are not on these routes.
We're also working with farmers and external contractors to clear snow from some roads which aren't on these routes.
You can request a road to be gritted by filling in this form. But we'll only consider these roads when priority routes have been treated and any requests will be dealt in order of where need is greatest.
Severe winter weather - What to do in an emergency
Do you need help for a medical emergency or fire? Call 999. Emergency services will get help to you.
Do you need to travel for an appointment to receive dialysis, chemotherapy or radiotherapy? Call your healthcare provider first to make sure your appointment hasn't been cancelled. If an ambulance usually picks you up and drops you off contact your provider. If you usually travel to your appointment by yourself or with family or friends, and you're concerned the road conditions are too bad to travel, Call Derbyshire on 08 456 058 058 and we'll try and arrange to get you there and back.
Are you an elderly or disabled person expecting a visit from the district nurse for essential healthcare or a new or expectant mother with a midwife appointment? If so contact that service to check that visits or appointments are still scheduled.
We'll be working with all these other agencies to help services like this continue.
Related documents
The following documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)
- Get Ready for Winter leaflet (552KB)
- Winter Service Plan (241KB)
- Gritting leaflet and route map - Amber Valley (1584KB)
- Gritting leaflet and route map - Chesterfield (1585KB)
- Gritting leaflet and route map - Erewash (1761KB)
- Gritting leaflet and route map - High Peak (1587KB)
Also on our website
Information on other websites
Follow us on Twitter (opens in a new window) for the latest updates and enquiries or follow WinterHighways (opens in a new window) for winter weather updates on traffic and roads from the Highways Agency.
Derby City Council (opens in a new window) are responsible for gritting within the city.
