Are You Ready For Winter? Asks Swindon Borough Council
With the worst of the winter weather still ahead, Swindon Borough Council has created a page on its website which gives residents useful advice and information about preparing for cold and extreme weather, and coping with it.
The Are You Ready for Winter? page at www.swindon.gov.uk/readyforwinter provides relevant information all in one place and includes links to winter driving advice, how to keep well and warm, what to do in case of flooding, school contact details for parents, and information on road gritting across the Borough.
To complement the page, there will also be regular updates on social media via the Council’s Twitter and Facebook pages about when gritting vehicles are likely to go out to treat the 280 miles of designated main routes across the Borough, along with advice reminders.
The webpage signposts people to a wide range of health information and advice relating to cold weather, including details about flu vaccination.
Vaccination is especially recommended for those who are more vulnerable, and it is available free of charge for anyone over the age of 65, women who are pregnant, children aged between two and seven years old, anyone with underlying health conditions or weak immune systems, and those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
To keep traffic moving, the Council has a stockpile of 1,600 tonnes of road salt, enough to treat the Borough’s priority routes 40 times. Last year approximately 1,000 tonnes was used, but if the weather this winter becomes harsh another 1,000 tonnes of salt has been provisionally ordered for early in the New Year should it be needed.
The Council has also topped up all of the Borough’s 474 grit bins, and 125 staff are on standby to grit pavements in severe weather.
The Council’s Homeline service, which assists elderly and vulnerable people, has 4×4 vehicles to make sure snow is no barrier to help getting through, along with emergency response arrangements which can call on support from many organisations, including some in the voluntary sector, to assist in emergencies