Council's Winter services in action
8th December 2017
With Storm Caroline hitting the Highlands yesterday, today's heavy snowfall and the forecast for a drop in temperatures over the next 48 hours, the Highland Council's crews and winter vehicles have been busy in action.
The fleet includes 105 gritters, 42 footpath tractors and over the coming months 200 plus staff will be providing winter maintenance services. Last year 37,200 tonnes of salt was used and the council has confirmed its stock levels are high and they are fully prepared for further bad weather.
Treatments over the winter months are provided from Monday to Saturday between 6am and 9pm. Primary routes are treated first, followed by secondary routes and crews will only move on to treat other roads when the primary and secondary routes are all completed
On Sunday and public holidays the service is restricted to Primary routes only and treatment takes place between 7am and 9pm.
An interactive map is available on the Councils website showing the location of all gritting bins in the Highlands https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/20005/roads_and_pavements/594/grit_bins From this web link communities can apply for further bins under the Winter Resilience Community Aid scheme
The Director of Community Services, William Gilfillan said: "Following on from today's ice and snow and further wintry conditions forecast for the weekend it’s a good time to remind everyone what our gritting policy is.
"Maps showing the Primary, Secondary and Other routes for all areas of the Highlands are available on our website, as is our gritting policy.
"Although we have the supplies and resources in place to provide a full winter service we are also encouraging communities to come forward and apply for winter resilience assistance. Under this scheme we can provide local communities with salt in grit bins or heaps and other equipment to take action in their local areas that are important to them."
The area maps and full details of the gritting policy can be found by visiting www.highland.gov.uk/gritting
Very low temperatures are expected overnight and tomorrow. Please check on neighbours keeping an eye out for anyone that needs help and take extra precautions and care if travel is necessary.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Yesterday
Council welcomes Visitor Levy flexibility plan
The Highland Council welcomes moves by the Scottish Government to introduce greater flexibility on how it could design a Visitor Levy Scheme for consultation. The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 currently provides local authorities with discretionary powers to implement percentage-based levies following statutory consultation.Yesterday
Highland Council is reaching out for views to shape its next 26/27 budget.
As it looks to set out its forthcoming priorities, the council is seeking involvement from members of the public, including businesses, community groups, parents, and young people. All their opinions are going to be crucial in deciding how Highland Council will take on its budget challenge for 2026-2027.Yesterday
Have your say in Thurso's future £100million investment by attending public consultation events
Thurso is to benefit from £100m investment in education and community facilities and are rolling out the first phase of public consultations on 9 and 10 December 2025. The Highland Council is inviting people that live, work, or study in Thurso, to come along to the public consultation events to have their say; this is an opportunity to help shape the future of Thurso, to gather views and ideas.2/12/2025
Finding new owners for empty homes - Scheme launched to help return more empty homes to active use
A new online portal has been launched to bring empty homeowners together with prospective buyers or developers with the aim of facilitating more properties to be used as homes again. Covering the whole of Scotland, this builds on the success of local pilots, referred to as "matchmaker schemes".1/12/2025
Consideration for short term let control area in Skye and Raasay
Steps towards introducing a short term let control area have been considered by Highland Council's Isle of Skye and Raasay area committee. On Monday (1 December 2025) the committee heard evidence to justify the grounds for the introduction of a Short Term Let Control Area covering all or part of Skye and Raasay.28/11/2025
Workforce North event spotlights Highland economy
EMPLOYERS and educators from across the Highlands have gathered to hear how a new initiative is aiming to transform the region's economy. Workforce North - A Call to Action brought together business leaders and teachers from primary and secondary schools from across the Highland Council area with a wide range of partners geared towards education, learning and skills development at Strathpeffer Pavillion.
27/11/2025
Council calls for meaningful engagement from Home Office Over 300 Asylum Seekers Being Sent to Inverness
The Highland Council continues to call for meaningful engagement from the Home Office over its plans to temporarily accommodate up to 300 adult male asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks, Inverness. It follows an email on Monday from Alex Norris MP, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, to Council Leader, Raymond Bremner, which failed to answer questions raised by the Council or address community concerns.27/11/2025
SSEN Transmission becomes first signatory to Highland Social Value Charter
SSEN Transmission has become the first company to sign up to the Highland Social Value Charter (HSVC), marking a significant milestone in delivering long-term socio-economic benefits for communities across the Highlands. Investment commitments from the company include funding for roads, new homes, jobs, and work for local contractors in addition to a local and regional fund for communities to apply to.25/11/2025
Wick - Aberdeen PSO - Update issued 24/11/2025
The Highland Council continues to work through the procurement process for the provision of the Wick Public Service Obligation for the Highland Council. We have now entered the preferred bidder stage and have entered a standstill period.25/11/2025
Highland Council winter road condition and school closure report for 25 November 2025
Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting (external link) The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Our Social Media
